Lunch with Mathew

artist and founder of aayuraa studio, mathew nuqingaq

By: Lindsay MacDonald
Published: 2022/12/15

In a small café across the street from L.A.Pai Gallery, just hours before his exhibition with Lavinia Van Heuvelen and Kaajuk Kablalik was to open, renowned contemporary jeweller and Order of Canada recipient Mathew Nuqingaq sat down with me to chat over coffees and a cold noodle salad. 

Mathew Nuqingaq, CM  (b.1964) has been making and promoting Inuit Art for over twenty years. As the founder of Aayuraa Studio in Iqaluit, he has supported and worked alongside several emerging and established Inuit artists. Along with being an artist, educator, drum dancer and photographer, Mathew has also held a position on the Inuit Art Foundation Board of Directors and was co-founder of the Nunavut Arts and Crafts Association. *

I asked Mathew about the beginning of his career. He was initially inspired to create metal work after viewing hand-made Christmas ornaments at the Toonik Tyme Festival. From there he enrolled in evening classes in the Jewelry and Metalwork program at the Nunavut Arctic College all while having a day job as an elementary school teacher. He was compelled by how a comparatively small object like a jewellery piece can convey so much conceptual content, skill and tradition, and be a transportable object of significance and meaning.

 Mathew applies silver and goldsmithing techniques to a visual lexicon of Inuit mythology and technology, arctic animals and internal narratives. His early work focused on the Inuit story of Sedna. Since then he has expanded to anthropomorphic forms, and representations of Inuit technology which blur the boundaries between sculpture, jewel and functional tool.

Perhaps because he is a teacher, Mathew is very generous with his smithing secrets. During the gallery tour at L. A. Pai Mathew revealed some details of his constructions such as his use of natural materials like willow leaves and fish skin (Arctic char) to imprint metals via the rolling mill. These textures add rich surfaces to his crisply cut, hammer-formed shapes. As an owner of a pair of his Qulliq earrings, I observed how he turned up the edges to reinforce the composition adding formal strength to the natural work-hardening of the metal. I see the mark of his hand on the rippling surface.

We shared our respective lists of mentors and inspirations. His list included Martha Glenny, Paul McClure, Michael Massie, Brigitte Clavette and many more. Despite the vast distance, Mathew remains well connected. His career has taken him across Canada to teach and lead artist workshops. I remember handling baleen and walrus tusk as his student during a workshop at Harbourfront Centre in 2005. I tried to jog his memory – he just said, "that was a very long time ago" with a smile. I felt my age.

As anyone who is a follower of his vibrant Instagram account knows, Mathew is the owner of the Aayuraa Studio (meaning snow-goggle in Inuktitut)*, where visiting artists (including Lavinia Van Heuvelen and Dan Wade) have had the opportunity to make and show their work. Reaching out via social media, Mathew shares a glimpse of this lively environment filled with local music, comradery, the occasional visiting dignitary and a breathtaking view of Iqaluit from the studio window. A recent image posted on his Instagram simply says, "supplies supplies!" and shows a serene looking container ship approaching Iqaluit, presumably with packages destined for the benches of Aayuraa.

Mathew's reach via multi-media is broad and inspiring. Dispatches from Mathew’s own bench include video of the artist inspecting a pair of his glittering hammer textured earrings, transmitting the light of Iqaluit directly into our Instagram feeds. The stop motion animation clips of his #multitalentedguys (little characters fabricated from silver who can ski and snowmobile, play guitar all while being earrings) are showcased on his feed and were also prominently featured in the multi-media exhibition at L.A. Pai Gallery. 

I told him that I felt it was time for me to have a "level up" moment, a time to focus on acquiring a new skill to add to my craft. At this, Mathew surprised me by saying how great it is that we get to participate in a discipline that constantly demands for us to "level-up". Happy to put my admission into a positive light, I was surprised to hear that an artist as established as Mathew would still feel this need to propel forward. I shouldn't have been surprised.

Mathew has recently added a DJ6 laser engraver to his studio equipment. A step toward his goal of getting Aayuraa fully equipped with computer aided design. Each of his pieces will still consist of plenty of hand labour and skill, but the computer assisted engraving will allow for new designs and motifs and importantly, allow for Mathew to execute his work at a faster pace, keeping up with increasing demand.

This intersection of technology and craft fueled the energy of the exhibition at L.A. Pai Gallery, and it drives Mathew’s optimism for the future of craft and design in Iqaluit. He said that social media is leading to better sales and fosters stronger connections between galleries and independent clients. And indeed, while sitting in the cafe, we were interrupted by a fan who recognised Mathew and the bear claw necklace he was wearing. She returned later on to the gallery and purchased one of the most exquisite pieces in the exhibition, a beautifully engraved silver bracelet depicting Sedna.

To accompany Mathew through his portion of the exhibition, to listen to him point out technical details in the metals and corresponding objects, I felt lucky to be sharing the same place and time as Mathew, fortunate that I could feel and share in his joy of making as a fan and fellow craftsperson. Thank-you Mathew.

* Laura Chantal, “Mathew Nuqingaq”, inuitartfoundation.org, Toronto, Inuit Art Quarterly, 2017, https://www.inuitartfoundation.org/profiles/artist/Mathew-Nuqingaq, (accessed 14/12/22).

Banner image: Mathew Nuqingaq, Willow leaf on Whales Tail, image by the artist