Qamani’tuaq (Baker Lake)
(1934–2010)
(1934–2010)
Simon Tookoome (1934–2010) was from Tariunnuaq (Chantrey Inlet), NU, and lived with his family on the land, although he produced most of his art in Qamani’tuaq (Baker Lake), NU. At different times in his life Tookoome was a fisherman, a builder, a teacher, a jeweller, an artist and a sculptor, all professions which he imbued with traditional Inuit knowledge. Tookoome began his artistic practice by sculpting bone and soapstone in the 1960s, but was more interested in drawing as it gave him greater artistic freedom. His graphic style is influenced greatly by his childhood, being raised on the land and hearing traditional stories from his family, Tookoome’s aesthetic engages with hybrid animals and shamanic practices, and often features heavy contour lines and deep, saturated tones of colour.
Artist biographies provided with permission by the Inuit Art Foundation. All rights reserved.
About
This sculpture is a combination of a dream and a story. When he was a young boy, Tookoome became very sick. Someone told his mother that when Simon saw a ptarmigan he would get better. It happened that he did get better when he happened to see a ptarmigan while hunting. From then on, he would never kill a ptarmigan.
