Not Me Anymore

Description

‘Not Me Anymore’ by Jutai Toonoo — Inuit Art – Cape Dorset 2010 print collection presented by DaVic Gallery of Native Canadian Arts.

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Condition:          No condition to be noted.

Description by Artist:     No description by artist found.

Notes from DaVic Gallery:           No description by artist found. Please note how the portrait is composed of hundreds of small faces.  Based on the following story of how the title was given to this print might be misleading on how the composition is interpreted by the viewer.

The 2010 spring print collection from the Kinngait Studios included an image by Jutai Toonoo called “Not Me Anymore.” At the time the edition was completed I was in Cape Dorset and in the lithography studio when Jutai came in to sign the edition. He had previously approved the final proof but when he saw the edition, he refused to sign it. “Why?” I kept asking him, but all he would say was, “It’s not me anymore.” He would have none of my entreaties; did not care that time and expense had gone into the edition; he just sat on his drawing stool with his arms crossed in defiance and insisted: “It’s not me anymore.” “Fine!” I said, more than a little peeved. “We’ll call it that. We’ll call it ‘Not Me Anymore.’” I really didn’t expect to get anywhere at that point, but his arms relaxed a little as he thought about it and finally he said, “Okay, I’ll sign it. You call it that, and I’ll sign it.”

“Not Me Anymore” is a face, but when you look closely you see that it is made up of a thousand or more tiny faces, all blended together under a ‘rainbow roll’ of colours. It became an iconic image for Jutai, who was also a man of many guises. He was one of my favourite people and artists. He could be fiercely loyal, and he and Terry (Ryan) had a close relationship. As an artist, he had an ear for the absurd and an eye for beauty, and I appreciated his intelligence, honesty and humour. — Leslie Boyd