Ruben Komangapik

Ruben Komangapik (born 1976) is an Inuk artist primarily known for his mixed media sculptures. He is also a musician, performing both traditional Inuit drumming and singing as well as playing bass guitar in the heavy metal band Slayvz. He was born in Iqaluit, and his home community is Pond Inlet (Mittimatalik) on the high north-east coast of Baffin Island (Qikiqtaaluk).

Personal life As is common in northern Inuit communities, his paternal grandparents, Joshua and Enuya Komangapik played an influential role in his upbringing until their death within months of each other in 1981. They ensured that Komangapik learned Inuit customs and experienced a hunting lifestyle out at the family camp, side by side with life in town and a formal school education. In 2016, Komangapik was commissioned to create a sculptural work with Koomuatuk Curley at York University as part of the Mobilizing Inuit Cultural Heritage Project.

Selected exhibitions

2017: Canadian Biennial, National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa, Ontario) 2011: Contemporary Reflections, The Guild (Montréal, Québec) 2008: Spirit Wrestler: Shaman, Sedna and Spirits, Spirit Wrestler Gallery (Vancouver, British Columbia)

Collections Komangapik's work can be found in the collections of the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, Ontario, the Canada Council for the Arts Art Bank in Ottawa, Ontario, and Canada House Gallery in Banff, Alberta.