Eli Elijassiapik

Eli Elijassiapik

Eli Elijassiapik (1936 - 2015) - Artist Biography

Born on a small camp on the Nauligaqvik River (Nunavik, QC), Eli Elijassiapik (1936-2015) started carving in the late 60s after moving to Inukjuak (QC). Known for his sculptures of animals and hunting scenes, his work became a means of expression, preservation of Inuit culture and sharing past way of life. Eli Elijassiapik also served as President of the Inukjuak Community Council for many years and on the board of directors of the Fédération coopératives du Nouveau-Québec. His work has been exhibited throughout North America, Europe, as well as in Japan, and is in prestigious collections such as those of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and the Canadian Museum of History (Gatineau, QC). Elijassiapik was President of the Inukjuak Community Council for many years, and served on the board of directors of La Fédération Coopératives du Nouveau-Québec.

"When I first started carving, I didn’t see it as an artform . . . Today I see it as a way of expressing myself. Some of my carvings depict a past way of life. I also see carving as a way to preserve our culture, and I believe carving serves to express our past. . . . Inuit have a lot of work to do. We can’t live on carvings alone, so I believe all Inuit have work to do in order to prepare for a different future.” (Eli Elijassiapik in an unpublished interview with the Inuit Art Foundation, 1997)

Public Collections:

Art Gallery of York University, Toronto
Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec, Montreal
Dennos Museum Center, Northwestern Michigan College, Traverse City
Musee de la civilisation, Quebec City
Musee des beaux-arts de Montreal, Montreal
Museum of Anthropology, University of British Columbia

Artist Specialization: Elijassiapik’s carvings from the late 1960s are moderate in size, round, and usually depict fish or birds. He also accentuated his larger figurative sculptures’ elliptical-shaped eyes with ivory or bone inlay.