Simon Tookoome was born in 1934 at Chantrey Inlet. He grew up learning the traditional lifestyle and beliefs of the Utkusiksalingmiut, a mainly inland group of Inuit who occupied the territory along the Back River. He also spent time in Gjoa Haven on King William Island to the North, where he was exposed to the coastal culture of the Netsilik. Like most Utkusiksalingmiut, he moved south to the community of Baker Lake in the late sixties when severe game shortages threatened the people's survival. Following the arrival of Jack and Sheila Butler as arts advisors in 1969, Tookoome took up drawing and stone carving on a full-time basis, becoming in time one of Baker Lake's most prominent artists. As an active founding member of the Sanavik Co-op, he also cut and printed many images, including some based on his own drawings. Between 1971 and 1990 a total of 58 of his images were published as prints and included in Baker Lake's annual collections. Admired widely for his recognizable and highly expressive style, and sometimes criticized for repetitiousness, Tookoome is a knowledgeable and strong defender of Inuit traditions, both spiritual and material.

Tookoome's two-dimensional works often combine a dynamic expressionist approach with a more controlled repetitive-decorative one, usually uniting human and animal subjects in the same image. In some works, hooded human profiles are contained within the bodily contours of a single wolf or dog. In others, large human heads sprout striped arm-like extensions that end in the smaller heads of caribou, wolves, muskoxen and other people. While such images may appear to suggest shaman-like transformations, Peter Millard notes that Tookoome's pictures are most often intended as visualizations of people's inner thoughts. In Tookoome's own words, "a face with images of animals on its cheeks means that the person is thinking of that species of animal, sort of like having a vision or a daydream of animals." Repetition, multiplication and instances of a nearly mirror-like symmetry are important elements in most prints and drawings, many of which feature rows of heads, some in pairs facing one another. Figure-ground relationships also play an significant role: in some images the grounds are divided into areas of solid colour, and in others the grounds are rendered as vibrating patterns of colourful light and dark contrasts.

Tookoome's stone sculptures, while generally less complex than his drawn images, usually resemble the latter in most important respects, and often consist of human faces and/or animal forms stacked like totems. Many sculptures similarly incorporate negative spaces that function not unlike expressive two-dimensional grounds, a striking contrast to the massive volumes that characterize most Baker Lake sculpture.

Selected References
Qamanittuaq: Where the River Widens (1994), Judith Nasby (ed)
Vision and Form (2003), Robert Kardosh

Exhibitions

• Arctic Images: Major Sculptures by Canada's Leading Contemporary Eskimo (Inuit) Artists, at D/Erlien Fine Art Limited presented by Orca Aart, Chicago
• Arctic Mirror, Canadian Museum of Civilization
• Arctic Spirit 35 Years of Canadian Inuit Art, Frye Art Museum
• Art Inuit, Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai at Galerie Akenaton
• Art Inuit, Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai at Galerie Ombre et Lumiere
• Art Inuit, Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai at Galerie La Tour des Cardinaux
• Art Inuit, Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai at Le Theatre
• Art Inuit, l'Art des Esquimaux du Canada, Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai at Maison Falleur, Cambrai
• Art Inuit, la Sculpture des Esquimaux du Canada, Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai at Chapelle de la Visitation, Thonon
• Art Inuit, la Sculpture des Esquimaux du Canada, Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai at Centre d'Action Culturelle du Bassin Houllier, Lorrain, Saint Avold
• Art Inuit: Autour de la Collection de Cape Dorset 1990, Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai at Centre Culturel Canadien
• Art of the Eskimo: Contemporary Sculpture & Drawings from the Canadian Arctic, Gallery 100 Hudson
• Art/Facts, McMaster Art Gallery
• Baker Lake, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
• Baker Lake - Uncatalogued Prints 1979-1985 A retrospective collection exhibited at selected galleries, organized by, Canadian Arctic Producers
• Baker Lake Drawings, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• Baker Lake Drawings, The Upstairs Gallery
• Baker Lake Print Collection *71, (annual collection)
• Baker Lake Print Collection *72, (annual collection)
• Baker Lake Print Collection *73, (annual collection)
• Baker Lake Print Collection *74, (annual collection)
• Baker Lake Print Collection *75, (annual collection)
• Baker Lake Print Collection *76, (annual collection)
• Baker Lake Print Collection *77, (annual collection)
• Baker Lake Print Collection *78, (annual collection)
• Baker Lake Print Collection *79, (annual collection)
• Baker Lake Print Collection *80, (annual collection)
• Baker Lake Print Collection *81, (annual collection)
• Baker Lake Print Collection *82, (annual collection)
• Baker Lake Print Collection *83/84, (annual collection)
• Baker Lake Print Collection *85, (annual collection)
• Baker Lake Print Collection *86, (annual collection)
• Baker Lake Print Collection *87, (annual collection)
• Baker Lake Print Collection *88, (annual collection)
• Baker Lake Print Collection *90, (annual collection)
• Baker Lake Print Collection (printmaker) *72, (annual collection)
• Baker Lake Print Collection (printmaker) *73, (annual collection)
• Baker Lake Print Collection (printmaker) *74, (annual collection)
• Baker Lake Print Collection (printmaker) *75, (annual collection)
• Baker Lake Print Collection (printmaker) *78, (annual collection)
• Baker Lake Print Collection (printmaker) *87, (annual collection)
• Baker Lake Print Collection (printmaker) *88, (annual collection)
• Baker Lake Print Collection (printmaker) *90, (annual collection)
• Baker Lake Print Retrospective: A Twenty Year Anniversary, The Upstairs Gallery
• Baker Lake Prints & Print-Drawings: 1970-1976, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• Baker Lake Prints - Ten Year Retrospective, The Upstairs Gallery
• Baker Lake Prints 1985, The Innuit Gallery of Eskimo Art
• Baker Lake Prints and Print Drawings, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• Baker Lake Prints: 1970 - 1982 Retrospective, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
• Baker Lake: Persistence of Old Memories, Brandon Allied Arts Council
• Bears of the North, Snow Goose Associates
• Building on Strengths: New Inuit Art from the Collection, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• Celebration 1988, Petro-Canada Exhibition Gallery
• Chisel and Brush/Le ciseau et la brosse, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
• Cold Stones, Warm Hearts: Inuit Art from the Northwest Territories, University of Richmond
• Contemporary Indian and Inuit Art of Canada, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Ottawa, presented at the General Assembly Building, United Nations
• Contemporary Inuit Art at the National Gallery of Canada, National Gallery of Canada
• Contemporary Inuit Drawings, Macdonald Stewart Art Centre
• Contemporary Inuit Drawings, Muscarelle Museum of Art College of William and Mary
• Demons and Spirits and those who wrestled with them, The Arctic Circle
• Die Kunst aus der Arktis, Inuit Galerie, Mannheim held at Humanities and Social Sciences Research Institute, University of Siegen at Villa Waldrich
• Die Kunst aus der Arktis, Department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Ottawa, presented by Commerzbank
• Drawings and Sculpture from Baker Lake, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• Drawings by Simon Tookoome and Nancy Pookertnak of Baker Lake, Gallery Pascal
• Drawings from Baker Lake, The Innuit Gallery of Eskimo Art
• Each Depends on the Other, Houston North Gallery
• Eskimo Narrative, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• Espaces Inuit, Maison Hamel-Bruneau
• Free Spirits of the Inuit, The Arctic Circle
• Grasp Tight the Old Ways: Selections from the Klamer Family Collection of Inuit Art, Art Gallery of Ontario
• I Am Always Thinking About the Animals, Houston North Gallery
• Im Schatten der Sonne: Zeitgenossische Kunst der Indianer und Eskimos in Kanada/In the Shadow of the Sun: Contemporary Indian and Inuit Art in Canada, Canadian Museum of Civilization
• Immaginario Inuit Arte e cultura degli esquimesi canadesi, Galleria d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea
• Imprint '76, Art Gallery of Ontario, Extension Services
• Inua - Angakok - Inuk, The Arctic Circle
• Inuit Art in the 1970s, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, and the Agnes Etherington Art Centre
• Inuit Art: A Selection of Inuit Art from the Collection of the National Museum of Man, Ottawa, and the Rothmans Permanent Collection of Inuit Sculpture, Canada, National Museum of Man, Ottawa and Rothmans of Pall Mall Canada Ltd.
• Inuit Art: Drawings and Recent Sculpture, National Gallery of Canada
• Inuit Drawings, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
• Inuit Drawings, Albers Gallery
• Inuit Graphic Art from Indian & Northern Affairs Canada, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• Inuit Graphics and Drawings from 1959-1990, Arctic Artistry
• Inuit Graphics from the Past, Arctic Artistry
• Inuit Graphics Through the Year: Rare Prints from the Arctic, Arctic Artistry
• Inuit Master Artists of the 1970s, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
• Inuit Masterworks: Selections from the Collection of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, McMichael Canadian Collection
• Inuit Traditions in Graphics: 1961-1987, Arctic Artistry
• Kathleen Fenwick Memorial Exhibition, Gallery Pascal
• Keeping Our Stories Alive: An Exhibition of the Art and Crafts from Dene and Inuit of Canada, Institute of American Indian Arts Museum
• Kunst van de Inuit Eskimo's, Gemeentelijk Kunstcentrum Huis Hellemans
• Magic and Shamanism, Artspace Main/Access Gallery
• Major/Minor, Marion Scott Gallery
• Multiple Realities: Inuit Images of Shamanic Transformation, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• Native Sculptures and Prints, Gallery Pascal
• Noel au Chateau - Art inuit de la collection Macdonald Stewart Art Centre, Macdonald Stewart Art Centre Guelph, Ontario presented at Chateau Dufresne
• Nouveau Territoires... 350/500 Ans Apres, Presented at les maisons de la culture Cote-des-Neiges, Notre-Dame- de-Grace, and Rosemont-Petite Patrie, Montreal Recreation and Community Development Service and les Ateliers Visions Planetaire
• Original Serigraphs and Works on Paper by Simon Tookoome/Inuit sculpture from the Baker Lake Area, Madison Gallery
• Polar Vision: Canadian Eskimo Graphics, Jerusalem Artists' House Museum
• Qamanittuaq: The Art of Baker Lake, National Gallery of Canada
• Qamanittuaq: Where the River Widens Drawings by Baker Lake Artists, Macdonald Stewart Art Centre
• Qiviuq: A Legend in Art, Carleton University Art Gallery
• Selections from the McMaster Art Gallery Collection, McMaster Art Gallery
• Shamans and Spirits: Myths and Medical Symbolism in Eskimo Art, Canadian Arctic Producers and the National Museum of Man
• Shamans and Spirits: Myths and Medical Symbolism in Eskimo Art, Arts and Learning Services Foundation (this is a duplicate of the C.A.P. and National Museum of Man exhibition of 1976-1981)
• Share the Vision Philadelphians Collect Inuit Art, Art Space Gallery
• Simon Tookoome, McMichael Canadian Collection
• Simon Tookoome, Inuit Galerie
• Simon Tookoome - Drawings, Theo Waddington
• Simon Tookoome - Drawings, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
• Simon Tookoome Original Drawings, Albers Gallery
• Sojourns to Nunavut: Contemporary Inuit Art from Canada, at Bunkamura Art Gallery, presented by the University of British Columbia Museum of Anthropology and The McMichael Canadian Art Collection
• Spirits and Dreams - Arts of the Inuit of Baker Lake, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
• The Coming and Going of the Shaman: Eskimo Shamanism and Art, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• The Great Northern Arts Festival, held in Inuvik
• The Inuit Imagination, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• The Inuit Print/L'estampe inuit, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and the National Museum of Man
• The Klamer Family Collection of Inuit Art from the Art Gallery of Ontario, University of Guelph
• The Moveable Feast, Arts and Learning Services Foundation
• The People Within - Art from Baker Lake, Art Gallery of Ontario
• The Swinton Collection of Inuit Art, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• The Theme of Transformation in Inuit Sculpture, The Isaacs/Innuit Gallery
• The World Around Me, University of Lethbridge Art Gallery
• The Zazelenchuk Collection of Eskimo Art, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• Tundra & Ice: Stone Images of Animals and Man, presented by Orca Aart at the Adventurers' Club
• We Lived by Animals/Nous Vivions des Animaux, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development in cooperation with the Department of External Affairs
• Western Canadian Woodblock Prints, Muttart Public Art Gallery
• Works on Paper from the Permanent Collection of Inuit Art, Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec
• Works on Paper from the Permanent Collection of Inuit Art, Canadian Guild of Craft Quebec
• [Inuit Art Exhibition], Whitby Arts Incorporated, The Station Gallery
• [L'art inuit], Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai at Palais de l'Europe, le Touquet

Collections

• Amon Carter Museum of Western Art, Fort Worth
• Amway Environmental Foundation Collection, Ada
• Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Victoria
• Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax
• Canada Council Art Bank, Ottawa
• Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec, Montreal
• Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull
• CIBC Collection, Toronto
• Dennos Museum Center, Northwestern Michigan College, Traverse City
• Inuit Cultural Institute, Rankin Inlet
• Klamer Family Collection, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
• Macdonald Stewart Art Centre, Guelph
• McMaster University Art Gallery, Hamilton
• McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg
• Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon
• Musee d'Art Contemporain de Montreal, Montreal
• Musee des beaux-arts de Montreal, Montreal
• Museum of Anthropology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver
• National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa
• Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, Yellowknife
• Simon Fraser Gallery, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby
• University of Alberta, Edmonton
• University of Lethbridge Art Gallery, Lethbridge
• University of New Brunswick, Fredericton
• Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg

Publications

• L'ART DES INUIT., Author: Veisse, Jeannine, Publication: Vie des arts, no 66, printemps, 1972. p.44-45. (1972)