Name:
Françoise Oklaga (1924 – 1991)
Gender:
Female
Style:
Inuit
Region:
Baker Lake, Nunavut, Canada
Françoise Oklaga was the sister of Cape Dorset artists Pudlo and Ooshutsiak Pudlat, but she was adopted at an early age and grew up in the area of Chesterfield Inlet. In 1975 she moved to Baker Lake and was intrigued by the active art scene in the community. Over 15 years she created many original works on paper, although only a few were rendered into prints for the annual Baker Lake print collections in the 1980s. Her exuberant style features bold primary colours and figures that burst in and out of the edges of the picture plane. Many of her works have large human faces as focal points, with various animals and hybrid creatures clustered within and around the main figures.