An early life on the land not only equipped Mary Mariq Kuutsiq with the sewing skills that would later make her a household name in Qamani’tuaq textile art, but also deeply influenced the subjects she chose to depict. In Untitled Work on Cloth (Traditional Arctic Scenes), the composition is loosely arranged in two registers, placing scenes of northern daily life alongside the surrounding wildlife. This interdependence of people and animals is conveyed through Kuutsiq’s simplified, boldly coloured forms, stitched down and subtly accented with embroidery to heighten their contrast against the dark background. The entire scene is framed by a bias tape border, a rarely used detail that lends the work a distinctive finish and sets it apart from other examples of its kind.

AC

References: For more information about the artist, see her Artist’s Profile on the Inuit Art Foundation’s website, https://www.inuitartfoundation.org/lite/profiles/artist/Mary-Mariq

For a similar work, which is the the National Museum of the American Indian, which forms the basis of our attribution, see https://americanindian.si.edu/collections-search/object/NMAI_276334