2017
Nitsiit
Couzyn van Heuvelen is a Canadian Inuk sculptor and installation artist. Born in Iqaluit, Nunavut and now based in Southern Ontario, van Heuvelen's artistic practice explores Inuit culture and identity, new and old technologies, and personal narratives. While rooted in the history and traditions of Inuit art, the work strays from established Inuit art-making methods and explores a range of fabrication processes. His work fuses Inuit art history and traditions with contemporary materials and technologies, as seen in his recent series Nitsiit, which includes materials like silver and brass as well as muskox horn and baleen. Van Heuvelen received his BFA from York University (Toronto) and his MFA from NSCADU (Halifax). His work has been included in several group exhibitions across Canada and he has received many major scholarships and awards. Notable achievements include being selected as the 2017–18 Sheridan College Temporary Contemporary Artist in Residence program, longlisted for the Sobey Art Award in 2018, and longlisted for the Kenojuak Ashevak Memorial Award through the Inuit Art Foundation in 2023.
Nitsiit ("hooks" in Inuktitut) is an installation consisting of seven human-sized fishing lures, each meticulously crafted in steel, clay, aluminum, and wood. Conceived by van Heuvelen as part of his ongoing exploration of personal narratives and experiences, these deceptively simple objects hold within them a vast cosmology of land-based practices and culture. Based in survival, Nitsiit not only speaks to contemporary fishing practices, but also to greater issues of cultural continuance and the convergence of art and craft. Situated within the conceptual and cultural context of the camp, this installation alludes to the importance of sustenance practices not only for joy and pleasure, but also the crucial role they play in self-determination and food sovereignty.
Related Program
GUT_BRAIN 1: Destructive Desires and Other Destinies of Excess
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The Blackwood
University of Toronto Mississauga
3359 Mississauga Road
Mississauga, ON L5L 1C6
[email protected]
(905) 828-3789
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The Blackwood is situated on the Territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit, Seneca, and Huron-Wendat.