Remembering Ancestors

“The three graves of Napachie Ashoona Pootoogook, Eegyvudluk Pootoogook, and Pitseolak Ashoona, Annie's mother, father, and grandmother, respectively, are flanked by brilliantly coloured composite flowers, their names inscribed in syllabics to the affixed crucifixes. Central in the image is the bust of a woman with her face obscured by her hands, her mouth rather widely parted. The figure is enclosed by an undulating contour that serves to create a sense of both literal and figurative detachment from what is below. Yellow lines beam from around the encircled figure and burial sites, conceivably borrowed from the contemporary artist’s own iconography where yellow denotes tenderness and warmth.

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This work is, perhaps, reflective of the artist's change to more emotionally preoccupied motifs following the death of her mother in 2002. Such very poignant subject matter is marvelously juxtaposed with the very simple medium and the artist's signature honest and uncomplicated style.”

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References from Kyra Vladykov Fisher, Guide to Cape Dorset Artists, 2008, p.170-172