Jamasie Pitseolak, Untitled (guitar) (2010), charcoal on paper [Marion Scott Gallery, Vancouver BC, Apr 9-May 14]

Jamasie Pitseolak, Peter Pitseolak’s Chair (2009-2010), stone, string, caribou antler [Marion Scott Gallery, Vancouver BC, Apr 9-May 14]

Jamasie Pitseolak, Untitled (jug of flowers) (2010), charcoal on paper [Marion Scott Gallery, Vancouver BC, Apr 9-May 14]

Born in 1968, Jamasie Pitseolak is the son of Oopik and Mark Pitseolak, both classic Inuit artists from the Cape Dorset area. Although Jamasie also carves from traditional materials like serpentine and basalt stone, sometimes garnishing his pieces with details made from bits of antler, bone and copper wire, his work is completely different in form and content.

The tongue-in-cheek carvings are assembled from small pieces of rock rather than cut from single blocks, and the subject matter is light-hearted. His modern-day objects include sewing machines, motorcycles, tanks, cars, tools, golf clubs, electric guitars, sunglasses, vases filled with flowers and domestic objects – even a small toilet. Many of their parts are moveable. While his sassy work is inspired by television, magazines, current events and daily life, it occasionally incorporates Inuit motifs and symbols such as Sedna on a motorcycle. Other carvings, like a pair of sneakers riding a skateboard and a set of Minnie Mouse-like high heels, are whimsical to the extreme.

In the first solo exhibition of Jamasie Pitseolak’s artwork in a southern commercial gallery, Marion Scott Gallery presents 30 sculptures produced in the last four years as well as a series of charcoal drawings and prints. His carvings were last shown at Marion Scott in 2006, and are in the collection of the Canadian Museum of Civilization and the Winnipeg Art Gallery.

Mia Johnson