Manasie Akpaliapik. Inuit Universe – until March 9, 2025

Manasie Akpaliapik. Inuit Universe

Immersion in the legends of the Far North

Running through March 9, 2025, the McCord Stewart Museum welcomes Manasie Akpaliapik. Inuit Universe. This exhibition – organized and circulated by the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec and adapted by the McCord Stewart Museum – is devoted to the contemporary artist from Ikpiarjuk (Arctic Bay) on Baffin Island (Nunavut). Featuring sculptures from the remarkable Inuit art collection of the late Raymond Brousseau, it offers a unique insight into the work of Manasie Akpaliapik. Considered one of the most gifted artists of his generation, he uses his favourite materials – whale bone, caribou antler and stone – to create works inspired by oral tradition, cultural values, the supernatural world, and the wildlife and environment of the Arctic.

Manasie Akpaliapik, The Sacred Owl, about 2000. Whalebone, white stone and black African wonderstone, 106 x 62 x 43,5 cm. MNBAQ, promised gift of Lyse Burgoyne-Brousseau (DPD.2016.31)© Manasie Akpaliapik Photo: MNBAQ, Idra Labrie

Drawing from the mythology of the world of snow and ice in which he grew up, the artist turns to nature for inspiration and raw material, from which his unique, captivating and multidimensional works emerge spontaneously. Manasie Akpaliapik doesn’t plan what his works will look like; he combines materials, and a sculpture, a narrative, emerges. His fascination with whale bone  –his medium of choice, though particularly rare and difficult to access – adds to the uniqueness of his work.

For five decades, Manasie Akpaliapik’s creations have been objects of fascination. Visitors will discover forty of the artist’s sculptures in the exhibition, which tells a fragment of the story of the Inuit people and inspires reflection at a time when the relationship between humanity, nature, and climate is front of mind. Wildlife, the tales and legends of the North – the sea goddess Talilayuq and the sacred Owl – shamanism, the transmission of knowledge and the Arctic environment are embodied in a dazzling amalgam of materials that characterizes each of Manasie Akpaliapik’s creations.

“A virtuoso with hammer and chisel, Manasie Akpaliapik is without doubt one of the most important sculptors of his generation. Equipped with both a masterful sense of material and technical perfection, the artist has succeeded in infusing his work with a highly personal reaction to the upheavals and transformations of his world, the Canadian Far North, and the people around him. At once humble, simple and reserved, Manasie transforms the bones found in the Arctic soil into inspiring stories. His mission: to transmit a sense of pride to succeeding generations,” says Daniel Drouin, curator of the exhibition. “Everything that I am doing is trying to capture some of the culture of our traditions, about simple things like hunting, wearing traditional clothing, and using legends. I feel that the only way we can preserve the culture is if people see it,” says Manasie Akpaliapik.

© MNBAQ, Photo: Idra Labrie

Between north and south 
Manasie Akpaliapik grew up in Irpiarjuk on Baffin Island. He migrated to southern Canada (Montreal, then the Greater Toronto Area) in the 1980s. Although he works from his studio in the “South,” his materials come almost exclusively from the Far North. Every year, Manasie returns to the region where he was born to collect materials for his sculptures. His creative process hinges on the use and combination of materials gathered from the ground. The forty works presented in the exhibition – with a few exceptions – are entirely made from a combination of materials collected during his annual trips to Nunavut. As he explains: “My art helps me preserve my connection between north and south, and thus helps me find my place between the Western world and Inuit culture.”

Laura Dumitriu © Musée McCord Stewart Museum

Art as salvation
While Manasie Akpaliapik’s work reflects Inuit history and traditions, it also touches on his own personal story, with a profoundly human and universal sensitivity. Art becomes a means of expressing the challenges he has had to overcome, but also of externalizing the demons he has long battled. In his words: “When life gets really tough, my art is always there to pull me up.” His exceptional work demonstrates the influence of contemporary art and Inuit culture.

“As the custodians of a collection that bears witness to nearly12,000 years of Indigenous history and presence on the land, the McCord Stewart Museum has long worked to highlight the vitality and diversity of contemporary Inuit, First Nations and Métis artists. Thanks to our collaboration with the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, we are delighted to be able to present the work of Manasie Akpaliapik, who is unquestionably one of the greats of his generation,” says Anne Eschapasse, President and CEO.

Activities related to the exhibition
Talk: Northern Artists, Southern Markets: Issues and Opportunities of Commercializing Inuit Art for the Artists – Wednesday, January 15, 2025, 6pm – Free

Family Workshop: Textures of an Imagined Journey
– daily to January 5, 2025 and during Spring Break from March 2-8, 2025

For opening hours and ticket prices, visit: www.musee-mccord-stewart.ca