Kivalliq
(b. 1927)
(b. 1927)
Robert Tatty (1927-2009) was born at the Tasiujaq Hudson’s Bay Company outpost. In the late 1950s, he settled in Rankin Inlet, NU, where he worked at the North Rankin Nickel Mine. Following the closure of the mine in 1962, the Rankin Inlet Ceramics Project was begun in 1963 by what was then the Department of Northern Affairs and Natural Resources. Tatty was one of the first Inuit artists to create and sell his work. Working in clay, he hand-molded a series of large, human busts with surrealistic flourishes, such as small figures and animals covering the surfaces of the heads. After leaving the ceramic studio in 1978, Tatty went on to become renowned as an avid dog-team racer, competing in and winning many races in Nunavut before retiring at the age of 72. Shortly before he passed away in 2009, Tatty contributed a wealth of knowledge about his beloved homeland to the Ukkusiksalik National Park Inuit Knowledge project. Although his tenure as an artist was brief, his contribution to Inuit art history was significant.
About
Between 1964 and 1972 a ceramics project in Rankin Inlet was sponsored by the federal government. Many unique and distinctive pieces were created by a number of artists. Because many of the artists had previous experience as stone carvers, their experiments in the clay medium resulted in very sculptural ceramics.
