About the exhibition
For the exhibition The Ocean/Imaq, NUKIGA has asked a number of Greenlandic artists to interpret the ocean as a theme in their art. The exhibition takes the form of a travelling exhibition to be shown in Denmark, Greenland, and Iceland. The grand opening will be in Vejle on Greenland’s National Day on 21 June 2023.
With this exhibition, NUKIGA wishes to give a picture of what modern Greenlandic art is and show the versatility of the Greenlandic art scene. It is also the ambition to contribute to giving Greenlandic artists better access to the Danish art market.
Calendar
After the opening in Vejle in June, the exhibition will move on to Tivoli in Copenhagen in August, the Town Hall in Aarhus later in August, Katuaq in Nuuk until September, Reykjavik during Arctic Circle Assembly in October, Odense in November and the old town hall in Aalborg in December.
The exhibition may also visit other Danish cities and the Faroe Islands in 2023 and 2024.
Calendar: Have a look at our calendar to find dates for a city near you. The event calendar will be regularly updated.
Naja Abelsen and many other artists exhibit at the Art Exhibition The Ocean/Imaq.
Educational material / visit the exhibition with children
NUKIGA has created this material, which can be downloaded for free (please note that it is in Danish).
The target group is approx. 4th – 7th grade, but it can also be used by families on an outing as inspiration when you talk to the children about the artwork.
THEME: The Ocean
The ocean unites us and separates us. The ocean gives life and takes life.
The ocean has always been of great importance to us humans. Greenland is surrounded by ocean, and the ocean plays an important role for Inuit, who have always lived from the ocean. The ocean has played a decisive role in the fact that man has been able to travel long distances. The sea route is still to this day one of the preferred routes when visiting each other in Greenland. Shipping and fishing are also still crucial for Greenlandic society, both nationally and internationally.
The deepest places on the ocean floor are one of the few areas on earth we have yet to explore. The ocean separates continents and countries, but is also the link between them. It is connected with grand politics and power struggles. The ocean is also a vulnerable ecosystem that is affected by human lifestyles. The ice is melting and the world’s oceans are rising. It affects life everywhere on the planet.
The ocean has always been perceived as a mysterious and alluring place, and many myths and legends have the ocean as a focal point. The myth of the Ocean Mother is one of the most well-known and beloved Greenlandic legends. The ocean is a place for dreams and fantasies and draws us in all its mystery.
The ocean is a concrete reality, a livelihood, a link, but at the same time a mysterious no man’s land linked to the mythical. The ocean is freedom to be able to travel, the ocean gives us food – but the ocean can also be a limitation and a scary place. A place not everyone comes home from.
Den grønlandske kunstner Aka Høeghs har skabt dette litografi specifikt til kunstudstillingen ‘Havet/Imaq’.
Aka Høegh about the lithography ‘Influence’
I call this picture ‘Influence’ in English, in Greenlandic Sunnertinneq. It is about being influenced by nature, because nature has saved me many times when I have been very down, or if something is not as it should be, I go out into nature. And when I go out there, everything disappears. Nature has saved me from many, many things.
The picture shows the universe and how in winter, you look at the stars at night and see the northern lights. Especially when there is a full moon, how the full moon affects one’s mind and makes one happier in some way. It is exciting to go out and look at night. The picture shows both night and day. Because I am very much in nature, as are all my countrymen.
We sail a lot, and I sail a lot both alone and with others. The picture shows the sea. The entire universe is here. Nunami silaannarmi – the land and the air, and how much this means to us, every human being – that we have the great nature that helps us with everything.
Watch this video where Greenlandic artist Aka Høegh talks about her work with creating lithographies for The Art Exhibition The Ocean/Imaq and here relationship with nature. Printer Niels Peitersen talks about the process of printing lithographies.
