Augatnaaq Eccles is a multidisciplinary artist from Kangiqliniq (Rankin Inlet), NU, currently based in Ottawa, ON. Her primary artistic focus is on sewing, textiles and fashion design, though her practice continues to grow and has expanded to include wood burning, wall hangings and linocut prints.
Though starting at a later age relative to her peers, Eccles says sewing has always been a presence around her—from her grandmother, Rhoda Karetak, to her aunts and friends. On a visit home from university, at age 18, Eccles started her first parka with a friend and began to embrace sewing as a pillar in her life. “[The] art I do and the sewing that I do is a way for me to…connect with back home,” she says. [1] Eccles’ primary inspiration is her grandmother, but she also acknowledges the support of a vibrant community of artists, including her father, who taught her wood burning, and her childhood home-economics teacher, textile artist Helen Iguptak. “Any work I do has been inspired by my grandma in some way…I’ve always been inspired by Helen Iguptak and other artists from my region who I’ve grown up around.”
Eccles’ most ambitious work is defined by its plurality: she combines various techniques and studies—from wall-hanging to sewing to cultural history—to create unique and multidimensional pieces. For a final project at Carleton University, Eccles submitted a parka depicting the “harrowing history of tuberculosis sanatoriums and Inuit,” by incorporating historical references and cultural imagery into the parka’s body and sleeves, giving a visual aspect to “the way that tuberculosis sanatoriums were used as a form of colonialism,” and how “Inuit families [were affected] not only while they were away, but in the decades after as well." [2] The phrase, “the white man’s miracle,” is embroidered onto the back of the parka, referencing a 1958 Maclean’s Magazine article, “The Changeling Eskimos of the Mountain San,” that described the treatments received by Inuit patients; a red thread hangs on the final “E,” like a bloodspill. Scenes of arctic life—a brilliant sun, a beaming inukshuk—adorn the parka’s sleeves. These emblems are bright and colorful, popping off the parka’s gray and somber base, and represent the home longed for by Inuit patients.
Although Eccles does use art to take on challenging topics, she desires to have balance in her work: “I don’t want people to just think of the hard times but I do want that history to be acknowledged,” she says. For the Carleton University Art Gallery, Eccles curated an exhibition, Seasons of the Sun (2023), focused on Inuit joy. Once again using Inuit outerwear as a vehicle for her message, Eccles created 3 different garments to embody the seasons of spring, summer, and fall. Each garment is not only seasonally designed, but also decorated to exemplify the joys of Inuit living in the Arctic. Accompanying each garment are select artworks that “express and point to the activities, sights, sounds, tastes and smells of its corresponding season.” [3] Eccles says the exhibition is a response to a question she’s often received by southerners: “Why would anyone want to live in the Arctic?”
Though Eccles and her work have already received much acclaim, she is eager to keep growing. “I don't want to put any limitations on my art…I sort of want to try anything I can get my hands on…to learn from other people and to build relationships,” she says. She expresses that her artistry, much like her artwork, is a synthesis of many forms: “A lot of work I do is from my community…I think it’s important to say that the work that I make doesn't just come from myself, it comes from the knowledge from the people around me.”