Sculptor Abraham Ruben comes home with Yellowknife exhibit

Abraham Ruben's elaborate soapstone carvings and bronze sculptures have graced galleries and museums across Canada and around the world including the Smithsonian in Washington.

Now the artist and his work have returned to the Northwest Territories.His new exhibit, Aurora Borealis, opened April 30at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre in Yellowknife.

"Forme it's like coming home," Ruben says.

It's the largest showing of his work ever held in the territory, including 30 soapstone carvings and bronze sculptures. Other pieces are made of whalebone andivory.

His sculptures tell the stories of contact between Norse adventurers and the ancient Inuitwhale hunters more than 1,000 years ago.

"Under the Northern Sky" is made of soapstone.

"You have the Vikingship and beneath it you have the polar bear, walrus and falcon."

The works explore themes of migration and mythology of the Vikings and ancient Inuit.

"People were on the move, mass migrations, not just [in] the Arctic but other parts of the world. The events that took place between theVikingsand the Inuit helped to change the lives of people in northernEuropeand beyond by introducing new materials, technology and maritime dynamics."

From North to South

Ruben has his own story of migration.He was born in a camp south of Paulatuk, N.W.T., in 1951.As a young boy Abraham lived with his family on the land and moved with the changing seasons. His sculptures, like the carving "Inuvialuit," reflect that heritage.

After studying design in Fairbanks, Alaska,Ruben put down roots in Yellowknife in 1975.He built a studio in a geodesic dome outside of the city.He lived and worked there for fiveyears, developing his carving skills and ideas for bronze casting.

"[I was] using Yellowknife as a stagingarea. This iswhere I took my dreams as an artist and went south," he says.

"[This is]where hopes and dreams and aspirationsas an individual started. This is where a lot of things that I do today got their foothold."

Ruben also battled with, and overcame, issues with substance abuse.

"I had been an alcoholic since the age of 16to 36," he says."Out of those experience I gained a lot of insight of what it means to be human.

'Truly an honour'

Today Abraham Ruben's works can be seen around the world.The Prince of Wales Heritage Centre has a small permanent collection.

"We know Abraham Ruben has been in public collections in the ROM [Royal Ontario Museum] and the National Gallery of Canada," says Barb Cameron, director of the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre.

"Internationally he is well known. It is truly an honour to have the show here. It's really something of a really high calibre."

Cameron says the exhibit will help draw attention to the North.

"We have 50,000 visitors each year from all over the world," she says.

"I think it will show the world how talented northern artists are."

Aurora Borealis will be on display for one year.