Manasie Akpaliapik. Inuit Universe

The peoples of the circumpolar regions have been shaping stone and ivory for millennia. From the 16th century onwards, contact between the Inuit and European explorers stimulated trade. However, it wasn’t until after World War II that the nomadic northern populations were forced by the federal authorities to adopt the lifestyle of the southern population and transition from a nomadic to a sedentary way of life. Faced with the need to find new means of subsistence, the first artists’ cooperatives were formed, creating large-format prints and sculptures for shipment to the south.

Manasie Akpaliapik was born in 1955 into a small community of seal hunters. He learned to carve as a child by observing members of his family, including his grandparents, but it wasn’t until the 1980s that he decided to become a professional sculptor. Since then, Manasie has gained recognition for his sustained artistic experimentation and outstanding technical skill.

Manasie carves musk oxen, owls, shamans and other Inuit characters. Each sculpture has a meaning and represents a legend, a feeling, a memory or a cultural tradition.

The oral transmission of knowledge through tales and legends is key to the preservation of Inuit culture. Elders also pass down ancestral arts and crafts techniques to children, like drum dancing, string games, throat singing and kayak making.

Through his art, Manasie hopes to document his culture and that of his ancestors, in order to pass it on to the next generation. His practice also allows him to find his place between the Western world and Inuit culture.

In Inuit culture, the universe is full of infinite possibilities. Spirits can take many forms. In tales and legends, characters sometimes have supernatural powers.  

The spirit of the musk ox, for example, provides the strength to withstand the cold in the hostile Arctic environment, while the owl, famous for its wisdom, shepherds the spirits of the dead into the afterlife. In the traditional way of life, every part of a hunted animal is used for food, clothing or materials. Humans, wildlife and the land are connected and interrelated. Along with the stars, they form the great circle of life. The devastation of Arctic animal populations by climate change has disastrous repercussions on the traditions of Inuit peoples.  

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.”

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 nearly 12,000 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. 

An exhibition organized and circulated by the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, adapted by the McCord Stewart Museum.

Curatorship
Daniel Drouin, Curator of Early Art and in charge of the Inuit Art Collection from 2005 to 2020, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec

Scenario and texts of gallery panels and labels
Manasie Akpaliapik, Annie Akpaliapik and Daniel Drouin

Exhibition tour coordination
Yasmée Faucher, Head of Museography, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec

The Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec thanks the Groupe de recherche et d’éducation sur les mammifères marins for the loan of the whale vertebrae.

McCord Stewart Museum team

Catherine K. Laflamme, Principal Project Manager, Exhibitions

Jonathan Lainey, Curator, Indigenous Cultures

Mélissa Jacques, Chief Technician, Exhibitions
Joelle Blanchette, Technician, Exhibitions
Olivier LeBlanc-Roy, Technician, Exhibitions

Anne-Frédérique Beaulieu-Plamondon, Officer, Digital Outreach, Collections and Exhibitions

Karine Rousseau, Head, Collections Management

Caterina Florio, Head, Conservation

Sandra Nadeau-Paradis, Officer, Publicity and Promotions

Leïla Afriat, Officer, Community Relation, Education
Julie Rose,  Programs Development Assistant

L’équipe de médiation culturelle

External team

Exhibition and Graphic Design
Marie-France Grondin, Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal, adapted by Guillaume Kukucka and David Martin

Revision
Blabla rédaction

English Translation
Judith Terry

ᐃᓄᑦᑎᑑᓕᕐᑎᕆᔨ / Inuktitut Translation
Harriet Keleutak

Graphic production
Graphiscan
Pro Séri

Installation
Espace Montage