The Hunter 'Pooŋojorteq’

Pooŋojorteq, the hunter, was painted from a photograph taken in the remote East Greenland settlement of Ammassalik in 1906 and sourced with the help of Bo Albrechtsen from the National Museum of Greenland Archives.

Painted on Blok 5 of the controversial housing Bloks of Nuuk which were built in the 1950s in an attempt by the Danish government to rapidly modernise Greenlandic society and its Inuit population. Through the closing down of social services in the remote settlements, this proud hunter-gatherer culture was forcibly moved to urban Blok accommodations to work industrial jobs in the city. This rapid change from traditional cultural practices over a short period of time resulted in high rates of suicide, alcoholism, and many other social problems. Many of the Bloks are now in a state of disrepair with additional problems caused by mould and poisonous building materials. The painting of these walls renewed what seemed like an endless discussion on the living conditions and maintenance of these housing structures, while a local described the new artwork to be ‘smiling down on all of us.’

Many beautiful people were met during this project: along with my generous friends from Iceland, Stefán Óli and Ari Rannveigarson, we had the pleasure of assistance from Greenland locals Qivioq, Bo Albrechtsen from the National Museum of Greenland, Ivalo, Hannah and Sika. Thanks to the support from Montana cans.