Photo: Fighting depression, hopelessness with art

“In His Memory 3,” the third in a four-panel series of oilstick drawings by Pangnirtung’s Elisapee Ishulutaq, is now on display at the Marion Scott Gallery in Vancouver. In the four works, Ishulutaq tells the story of a young man who took his own life in the 1990s. “Ishulutaq created this work to break the silence that too often surrounds the tragedy of youth suicide in northern communities,” says the gallery’s website. The artist is quoted as saying a disconnection with culture and the land is helping to fuel the northern suicide epidemic. This week, Iqaluit hosts the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention’s national annual conference entitled “Hope, Help and Healing” from Oct. 26-28. You can find out who’s speaking, and when, by going to: http://tinyurl.com/jzgajbu. (PHOTO COURTESY MARION SCOTT GALLERY)