Ruth Qaulluaryuk

Canadian, b. 1932

Four Seasons of the Tundra: Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer, 1991–1992

embroidery floss on wool stroud

(a) Wallhanging: 180.5 x 122.5 cm; (b) Wallhanging: 176.9 x 119.5 cm; (c) Wallhanging: 173 x 119.3 cm; (d) Wallhanging: 176.3 x 125.6 cm

Collection of the Winnipeg Art Gallery; Gift of the Volunteer Committee to the Winnipeg Art Gallery

G-93-26 a-d

Categories:

Textile, Inuit

Ruth Qaulluaryuk, the daughter of famous graphic artist Luke Anguhadluq, has created drawings and wall hangings since the early 1970s. In this set of four wall hangings, the artist expresses the changing visual aspect of the tundra through the seasons. In Summer and Fall, she shows the patchwork-like occurrence of tiny flowers, mosses, and lichens on the flat ground, as they change from the vivid reds, greens, and blues of summer to the more muted rusts and yellows of fall. In Winter, water swirls around ice under the northern lights and a starry sky. Pink light reflects off the snow from a sun low in the sky. Spring reveals the rocks that are covered in plant life of varying hues. Each panel has its own character, but there is a unity throughout, with the repeated leaf motif occurring in patches and in recurring colours.