Jade Nasogaluak-Carpenter, a Calgary-based Inuvialuk artist, is working in Inuvik as part of the TD North/South Artist Exchange program.
Samantha McKay/NNSL photo
Nasogaluak-Carpenter is working on two projects during their three-week residency: a soapstone carving series and a continuation of a photography project started in school.
The exchange program, organized by Canadian Art, offers customized residency programs for artists across Canada's North and South. Usually, one artist based in southern Canada will complete their residency in Northern Canada, and one artist based in Northern Canada will complete their residency in southern Canada.
Nasogaluak-Carpenter's first project, begun while studying at the Alberta College of Art and Design, is a photo series that aims to discuss cultural displacement and mental illness with comedy.
"The photos … are me in a ghost costume taken in urban settings," said Nasogaluak-Carpenter. "I use the ghost as a proxy to talk about cultural displacement and mental health concerns as a way of being seen and unseen in an environment that has welcomed you but is not necessarily your own."
Nasogaluak-Carpenter said that because the photos aren't blatantly autobiographical, the series allows many different people to relate to the photos in many ways.
"It's more open-ended and doesn't exclude people," they said. "It's a goofy Halloween costume … I think that is a comical approach to things."
Nasogaluak-Carpenter's second project, a series of handmade soapstone carvings, is called Uyarak, which means stone in Inuvialuktun.
"The main theme of that series of work is to put a contemporary spin on a traditional material. Carvers would traditionally carve what they knew, say dog teams or hunting scenes," said Nasogaluak-Carpenter. "But as an urban Inuk, I'm carving what I know, which is tampons or diva cups or cigarettes and a lighter. With some of the objects in the series, like the Listerine bottle, (it's) directly about stereotypes about Indigenous peoples and using that to spark dialogue about these types of things."
Nasogaluak-Carpenter wanted to return to Inuvik, an old home, and work alongside artists at the Great Northern Arts Festival (GNAF), which coincided with the residency.
"The folks at GNAF are so lovely and so accommodating. They're really good at making you feel welcome, which was really nice," said Nasogaluak-Carpenter. "I inadvertently received mentorship from the other carvers, which was really nice as well."
In addition to carving and photography, Nasogaluak-Carpenter also draws, paints, and works with beads.
Nasogaluak-Carpenter was born in Yellowknife, but grew up in Edmonton and Inuvik. Nasogaluak-Carpenter's mother is from Tuktoyaktuk and father is from Sachs Harbour.