Tarralik Duffy has always followed her instincts as an artist and they are serving her well.

SA国际影视传媒淚 think I always had this sense that maybe I wanted to be an artist, but I felt I couldnSA国际影视传媒檛 be, and I didnSA国际影视传媒檛 know how people became artists or what that magic thing was that they had,SA国际影视传媒� she said two days before her solo exhibition, Gasoline Rainbows, opened at the Winnipeg Art Gallery-Qaumajuq (WAG) on Sept. 22. SA国际影视传媒淚 just kind of stumbled into it by following my instincts and not really realizing what I was doing, because it started with just needing to work with my hands and quiet the noise in my head.SA国际影视传媒�

Gasoline Rainbows opened two years after Duffy received the prestigious Kenojuak Ashevak Memorial Award, which was created by WAG and the Inuit Art Foundation to support Inuit artists across all media.

The award came with a $20,000 prize and a two-month artist residency, and paved the way for DuffySA国际影视传媒檚 solo exhibition, all of which would have been difficult for her to imagine as a girl experimenting with art in Coral Harbour.

SA国际影视传媒淸My younger self] would probably think itSA国际影视传媒檚 funny because, for many years, I kind of lamented living in Nunavut because youSA国际影视传媒檙e just watching TV in the SA国际影视传媒�80s, and it seemed like the world was anywhere but my backyard, and everything that was happening that was important didnSA国际影视传媒檛 seem to be happening where I was,SA国际影视传媒� she said.

SA国际影视传媒淚 sort of chased after that,SA国际影视传媒� she added. SA国际影视传媒淭hen it was that cliche of realizing, SA国际影视传媒極h everything that is important is at home.SA国际影视传媒� I had it the whole time I was growing up. Everything that I needed, all the lessons and all the beauty and all the richness that I thought was out of my reach was right there in front of me the whole time.SA国际影视传媒�

DuffySA国际影视传媒檚 home and childhood are both reflected in the pieces on display in her Winnipeg exhibition, which is a mix of two-dimensional digital drawings and soft sculptures made of leather.

SheSA国际影视传媒檚 proud of the exhibition as a whole, but there are two pieces sheSA国际影视传媒檚 particularly eager to share with guests.

One of those pieces will be the focal point of the show: a large-scale can of Klik, the popular brand of luncheon meat.

The other, she said, is the only work on display that was not part of her original plan for the show. Instead, it came to her in an unexpected burst of inspiration while she was working on her Klik can.

SA国际影视传媒淓verything else I had to plan to make based on the theme of the show,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淚n the middle of that, I was working with this blubber pink, Barbie pink leather, and it reminded me of my auntie one time. We were sitting there eating tuktu quaq (frozen meat), and she said it was so delicious, she could chew it like a big piece of bubble gum. Looking at this leather reminded me of that, so I drew this riff on Bubble Yum, that gum from the SA国际影视传媒�80s, but itSA国际影视传媒檚 like Blubber Yum.

SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 like this madness took over me and I abandoned everything else,SA国际影视传媒� she added. SA国际影视传媒淚 was drawing and sewing all the time. I just had to make this piece, and to me, itSA国际影视传媒檚 my favourite.SA国际影视传媒�

While Duffy is pleased with the art she created for Gasoline Rainbows, she admitted it was difficult to be excited about it in the lead-up, as she worked frantically to make sure all of her pieces were ready.

Now that the exhibition is open, she hopes to enjoy some downtime before shifting her focus to other creative projects. She isnSA国际影视传媒檛 sure what she will create next, but said the instincts that have been serving her so well are now telling her to write.

SA国际影视传媒淔or the first time in a long time, I just want to write for myself,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淲riting a book seems so intimidating, but the ruminations of that are bubbling a little bit.

SA国际影视传媒淚 just want to follow my instincts, and right now writing is calling to me.SA国际影视传媒�