Shamanic Beliefs Resonate In Powerful Sculptures by David Ruben Piqtoukun at the Canadian Museum of Civilization
Hull, Quebec, April 17, 1997 — A compelling exhibition of works by Inuit sculptor David Ruben Piqtoukun, who translates the oral traditions of his people into magical creations in stone, opens at the Canadian Museum of Civilization on April 18, 1997 in the Art Gallery of the First Peoples Hall.
Organized by the Winnipeg Art Gallery, Between Two Worlds: Sculpture by David Ruben Piqtoukun features 62 sculptures that embody the artist's continuing fascination with the traditional Inuit spirit world of the Western Arctic. A survivor of the residential school system, Piqtoukun also dramatizes in stone the anguish that his people have suffered because of external disruptions of their culture.
"The Museum is delighted to have this opportunity to show these superbly eloquent sculptures by David Ruben Piqtoukun," said Dr. George F. MacDonald, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation. "In his work, now prized in collections throughout North America and in Europe, David Ruben Piqtoukun balances his concern for the loss of his culture and language with a profound optimism, rooted in the shamanic beliefs of his ancestors."
One of 15 children, Piqtoukun lived a traditional migratory life with his family along the Arctic coast north of the Mackenzie River Delta, until he was sent away to school at age five. He was introduced to stone carving in 1972 by his brother Abraham Anghik. Since 1974, his work has been represented in over 30 group exhibitions, and in solo exhibitions in Winnipeg, Edmonton, Vancouver, Inuvik and at Expo 1986 in Vancouver. His work can be found in many public and private collections, including the Art Gallery of Ontario, the McMichael Canadian Collection, the Canadian Museum of Civilization and the Staatliche Museum fur Volkerkunde in Munich.
One of David Ruben Piqtoukun's ancestors was an Alaskan shaman, who was said to have the power of spirit flight to the moon. The shaman's mask is an important recurring theme in Piqtoukun's work, as are shamanic transformation from human to animal form and the naturally ordered partnership of Inuit, animals and the spirit world.
Piqtoukun works with a breathtaking range of materials, including slate, welded steel, sinew, whalebone, limestone, Italian crystal alabaster and African wonderstone. He believes that each piece of stone has its own character, and that it is his task to release its living essence.
Between Two Worlds: Sculpture by David Ruben Piqtoukun will be presented at the Canadian Museum of Civilization until February 15, 1998.
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