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Exhibit puts northern women's photos on display

"I think it shows how vast our experiences are"

GREG YOUNGER-LEWIS

Kerry McCluskey organized the third annual women's photography exhibit at the Nunatta Sunakkutaangit Museum. (PHOTO BY GREG YOUNGER-LEWIS)

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What do U.S. trains, naked women, inuksuit and snowmobiles have in common?

They're all on display, in photographic form, at Iqaluit's Nunatta Sunakkutaangit Museum, where artists recently launched the third annual women's photography show, this year called "Film Fatale."

Surrounded by pictures of igloos, Asian women, and panoramic scenes of Iqaluit in springtime, organizer Kerry McCluskey doesn't pretend to see a link between the various displays.

"The only commonality is that it's work by women," she said during the show opening on March 6. "I think it shows how vast our experiences are."

McCluskey, former Nunavut editor of News North, started the show three years ago to celebrate International Women's Day, with a mission to showcase women's photography, which she says lacks exposure throughout the year.

One of the 14 photographers in this year's display described the collection of pictures as a "window to the world" of Northern women.

Evelyn Chemko, the manager of Iqaluit's Elders' Centre, said her photography hasn't changed since moving North from Prince Edward Island a few years ago.

Chemko said her camera still preserves memories, like the inuksuit that figure prominently in her photos.

"I feel really good when I'm around inuksuks," Chemko said. "It's part of the history and heritage of the North. The sad thing about inuksuks is people come and they knock them down. I noticed that when I go back to take pictures... they're gone.

"That's the thing about photography, you have the memories."

Wende Halonen, a communications worker with the Government of Nunavut, put one of her black-and-white memories of Iqaluit on display, with her ex-partner gazing over Iqaluit from a hill in Happy Valley.

Halonen, a former columnist and photojournalist for News North, said the strength of photography comes from the absence of language.

"You don't have the barriers of language," she said. "You can communicate a message without being concerned whether you speak the same language."

Joanna Awa, a CBC Radio host and one of the models photographed in black and white, said the pictures were "great" but added she was embarrassed to be on display.

One of McCluskey's pictures from her display entitled "Perseverance," shows Awa with her tiny weeks-old baby, Jenna, on the day of the child's christening.

Awa said her favourite photo hung close to her own, pointing to an image of a woman standing near a snowmobile with its hood up, ready for repair.

For Awa, this snowmobiler captured the spirit of the Northern woman.

"I think she can be feminine, and sometimes because of the environment we're in, she has to deal with a broken skidoo," she said. "Women up here, I think, are more adventurous. They don't stay at home. Because of the environment, I don't think they could have another lifestyle."

The exhibit continues until the end of the month.

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