Montreal’s McCord Stewart Museum has opened a brand new exhibit by contemporary Indigenous artist Manasie Akpaliapik titled Inuit Universe. It’s dedicated to his life’s work and features sculptures from the late Raymond Brousseau’s collection of Inuit art.
The exhibit offers a unique look at Akpaliapik’s work as he teases creations representing oral tradition, cultural values, and the supernatural world.
“It’s all got to do with my grandparents, I was growing up I watched them,” Akpaliapik said on his inspiration.
“My grandpa used stones and bones to create little figurines and I was interested in that but later on in life I found out I can do this,” he said.
The exhibit features sculptures made with whalebone, caribou antlers, and other traditional tools. The use of these materials emphasizes the subject matter of the pieces, also inspired by the wildlife environment of the Arctic.
Akpaliapik comes from Ikpiarjuk (Arctic Bay) on Baffin Island, Nunavut, and said there is no traditional word for ‘art’ but the closest translation refers to someone who is pretending to work.
“I’ve been pretending for the last 45 years,” he joked.
Produced by Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Akpaliapik’s work spans four decades with art displayed across the country. He created art inspired by his deep love for animals and Inuit legends.
“The animal itself, the whale, to honor that animal I’m using these to make it beautiful again and presentable,” he said. “I feel I’m helping the animal to survive.”
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Akpaliapik returns annually to the Nunavut region in order to gather materials for his sculptures. According to a press release, almost all the 40 woks exhibited are made from a combination of materials found in the ground during Akpaliapik’s trips.
He says he examines the materials and can see multiple art pieces visually, saying it’s like the materials call to him.
Curator of the exhibit Daniel Drouin says he was baffled in his first experience and says its an obligation for the public to know about the Indigenous population and history.
“I’ve seen for the first time in my life some works by Manasie Akpaliapik and I was totally flabbergasted,” he said.
“It’s very simple to understand because this art was a new manifestation of art in the world because the population from the Grand North was not connected with the rest of the world,” he said. “That was a unique art, it’s the reason why I was totally impressed by that kind of sculpture.”
Akpaliapik says he does not go into a new sculpture with preconceived notions of what it will look like. Rather, he considers the raw material at hand and follows its natural form to create pieces narrated by nature itself.
He believes in the preservation of his culture through art, and tries to capture as much of it as possible in his sculptures.
He anticipates many to visit with the exhibition beginning October 4th and running until March 9 2025.
“To be connected with the nature is important,” Akpaliapik said. “That helps you to stay in tune with life.”