Giving Without Receiving

Date2016

Medium/Materialssmoke-fired porcelain

Dimensions23 × 45 × 22 cm (9 1/16 × 17 11/16 × 8 11/16 in.)

Credit LineGift of Marnie Schreiber The sculpture’s title alludes to the chronic inequity that has persisted between settlers and Indigenous peoples, who have served as guides and collaborators with European visitors since the earliest days of arrival, despite persistent insults to their generosity of spirit. This work comes to the McMichael with the following story from the artist: My mother and father had made an Igloo on the ice in front of the Catholic church in Naujaat. A priest had come from Kugaaruk (Pelly Bay) to Naujaat. It was the time of year when there is no sun. The Catholic priest asked for their qudlik. He wanted to give it to a teacher who wanted one. My mother and father thought they would get paid, or be given something to eat, so my mother cleaned it very nicely and gave it to my father to give to the priest. They received nothing in return. That winter, they had no light, heat, or cooked food. My parents really suffered and they both said they did not know how they survived that year.

Object Number2023.2

DepartmentPERMANENT COLLECTION