Chipping Away
BY Patricia D’Souza
Photography by Janice Marin
Joanasie Korgak was 24 years old when he was sentenced to life imprisonment for the drunken slaying of his teenage cousin. They had been out riding their bicycles in Iqaluit, Nunavut, when a fight broke out between them, sending Korgak home in a youthful rage to saw off the end of his father’s shotgun. He returned to fire it point-blank into his cousin’s chest.
Today, seven years into his sentence, Korgak is a resident of Fenbrook Institution, a federal prison in Gravenhurst, Ontario, and a master carver of ivory and soapstone. One of up to 15 Nunavut Inuit carvers in the prison, Korgak’s carvings reflect traditional Inuit culture. But as you might expect from violent offenders, themes veer toward the gruesome, including brutal animal attacks and hunting scenes.
The carvers sell their work through major galleries. Last year they donated select pieces to a charity auction, and this year they have told the story of their craft in a book.
Arctic Transformations: Carvers at Fenbrook (Seraphim Editions, 2004) is a series of short profiles of the men, in their own words, in English and Inuktitut. The book’s title refers not only to the transformation theme common in Inuit art, but also to the changes undergone by the men in the program. In prison, Korgak has become a leader, teaching men decades older than him the craft he learned from his father at age nine.
With limited cognitive abilities brought on by years of solvent-sniffing, carving could give Korgak a means to support himself if he is granted parole in three years.
He has learned patience in prison. And he has learned that there is a world waiting for him if he can turn his life around. “Carving makes me happy, it keeps me clear-minded,” he writes. “As a carver, being patient is the most important skill to achieve. I look forward to showing my artwork to the world.”
