Long before John Cabot or Christopher Columbus braved the Atlantic Ocean, Northern civilizations were actively trading and interacting between Greenland and Scandinavia.
That's the driving theme of Paulatuk-born artist Abraham Anghik Ruben's artworks, more than 100 of which are on display at the Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG) -Qaumajuq as of May 24 and open for viewing until next spring.
Anghik Ruben said his work stems from his fascination with the historic relationship between Greenland Inuit and Norse colonists in the early centuries of the last millennium, roughly between 1000 and 1500 C.E.
"This history is about the myths, stories and legends from both cultures," he said. "I'm working from a theme I call 'Consequences of Contact.' There's very little written from the daily record of what took place between the Vikings and the Inuit, but this contact period may have lasted about 500 years."
Through his research, he learned Greenlanders had a significant influence on the Northern European economy and culture.
He added the relationship between the Norse and Greenland Inuit evolved over time.
"Initially it was open warfare between the two groups, but then cooler heads would prevail," he said. "They looked at ways where they could cooperate with each other. It's known that they lived side-by-side, so that means they were hunting together, gathering resources, exchanging technology and making it so the Vikings could get their goods from the Northern waters and sent to Northern Europe.
"Things like narwhal tusks, walrus tusks, polar bear pelts and even live polar bears."
With his art, Anghik Ruben shows how Greenland became something of a cultural melting pot, with Inuit migrating from the west and Norse from the east. Warmer temperatures were causing population booms on both sides of the equation and the results can be seen in Nordic art and technology.
Anghik Ruben said a number of Northern technologies developed out of the partnership between the two cultures. He noted two narwhal tusks brought back from Northern Greenland and gifted to the King of Denmark were integrated into his throne, which began the circumpolar trade relationship.
"Later in their engagement, they they developed the means to render sea mammal fat by boiling it and make sea mammal tar that would not become brittle until -40 C," he said. "They also developed the means to make lashing and rope for their ships, that was also good to -40 C. The Inuit introduced the toggle harpoon to the Viking sailors and that went into widespread use in Northern Europe.
"In my studies of Viking myths, stories and legends and similar themes among the Inuit, the first couple of hundred years both groups would have been practicing Shamanism, one from the Scandinavian point of view and the other from the incoming Inuit from Alaska. They understood the power of the spirit of the place SA国际影视传媒� both the Vikings and Inuit gave names to places where they hunted, places where they sought shelter and places that held a special significance to them."
An inductee to the Order of Canada, Anghik Ruben's work has been displayed around the world including the Musee du Louvre in Paris. Attributing his success to his parents and his teacher, Ronald Senungetuk, in Fairbanks, Alaska, he has been sculpting for 50 years. More recently during the Covid-19 pandemic, he also took up painting.
In a twist, his success as an artist has financed his other passion, prospecting, which he learned from an old friend who passed his mining claims on to Anghik Ruben.
"I left Alaska in 1975 and then I met with an elderly Chinese geologist," he said. "Before he passed away, he gifted his mining claims to me. I've been working on the mining claim since 2004. The artwork provides me with income to do prospecting and other developments.
"Now it's turning out my prospecting efforts could very well finance what I'm doing as an artist."
Abraham Anghik Ruben: A Retrospective is the first solo show at Qaumajuq's Qilak gallery, which is the largest space in the WAG dedicated to Inuit art. The show runs until Spring of 2026 SA国际影视传媒� a closing date has not been announced yet.
