Mary Qayuaryuk

Mary Qayuaryuk was born at Amadjuak, a large camp near a Hudson's Bay trading post that is now closed. After marrying Kopapik Qayuaryuk (1923-1969), Mary lived in Keatuk, Ikigarsak, and Kanayok camps until settling permanently in Cape Dorset (now Kinngait) in 1966. She had already started drawing and carving in the late 1950s. Her early drawings represented figures and snowhouses. After a pause, a return to drawing brought different subjects—usually spirit-like figures. Between 1964 and 1982, she had eleven prints in the annual Cape Dorset collections. Mary was the first woman elected to the Cape Dorset Community Council. Among the people in the Cape Dorset area, she is fondly remembered for her skills as a midwife, for her ability to dress and treat infected wounds, and for her knowledge of medicinal plants, not to mention her cooking skills and warm, generous hospitality. All three of her daughters, Sheojuk Toonoo (1928-2010), Qaunag Mikkigak (1932-2020), and Laisa Qayuaryuk (1935-2008) are artists.

Excerpted, with light edits, from Strange Scenes: Early Cape Dorset Drawings by Jean Blodgett and Susan Gustavison, published by the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, January 1993.