Lovers

This printed textile exemplifies the innovative works produced at Kinngait Studios, an Arctic printmaking workshop established in 1956 and still in operation today. Lovers, a design by Anirnik Oshuitoq, features a repeated pair of seated figures who face one another. The small dots between their noses and outstretched hands hint at an affectionate and even spiritual connection.

In the mid-20th century, the Canadian government marshalled Inuit art as a tool for constructing national identity. Artists such as Oshuitoq successfully navigated the aesthetic demands of their federal sponsors, whose aims may have included assimilating Indigenous people while asserting their sovereignty through experimental prints like the one seen here.