06/23/2026
The Art Gallery of Guelph is the final stop for touring exhibition Couzyn van Heuvelen: CAMP, curated by Erin Szikora and Leila Timmins and organized and circulated by The Robert McLaughlin Gallery.
The title of the exhibition refers to the physical and cultural space of an Inuit fishing camp—a seasonal site where families and communities gather to hunt and fish together. It is here where skills are passed from one generation to the next, and the sustenance provided by the land is gathered and shared. Throughout the exhibition, van Heuvelen transforms various camp chores, including fleshing and stretching sealskin, catching and drying fish, and preparing and sharing whale meat, into monumental sculpture. Transforming familiar elements of Inuit life, van Heuvelen makes room for Inuit knowledge systems to take up space in the gallery, both literally and metaphorically, asserting the value of land-based practices to Inuit self-determination and food sovereignty.
Presented with support from the Ontario Arts Council and the Government of Ontario. The artist gratefully acknowledges support from the Canada Council for the Arts.
Photos courtesy of Toni Hafkenscheid.
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Image details: (1) Couzyn van Heuvelen, Stretching Sealskin (detail), 2023, wool yarn, rug cloth, rug backing pad, wood, rope. Courtesy of the artist (2) Couzyn van Heuvelen, Mattaq, 2024, soap, cardboard. Courtesy of the artist (3) Couzyn van Heuvelen, Scraping Sealskin (detail), 2023, wool yarn, rug cloth, rug backing pad, felted wool, wood, steel, brass. Courtesy of the artist (4) Couzyn van Heuvelen, Candy Pitsiit (detail), 2023, candy, wood, rope. Courtesy of the artist (5) Couzyn van Heuvelen, Nets (detail), 2019, aluminum, fencing, floats, concrete. Courtesy of the artist
Image description: (1) digital graphic, a colour image detail of a large-scale sealskin recreated in soft materials and stretched on a wooden frame. Above the image is text detailing the exhibition's title and curators. (2) digital graphic, a colour image of a large-scale sculpture depicting mattaq, rendered in soap and displayed on a piece of cardboard on the floor. The image is set against a white background with a caption detailing the artwork's title and medium (3) digital graphic, a colour image detail of a large-scale ulu in the process of cleaning a sealskin. The image is displayed against a white background with a caption detailing the artwork's title and medium (4) digital graphic, a colour image of pitsiit hung on a rope, rendered in orange candy and displayed against an orange wall. The image is displayed against a white background with a caption detailing the artwork's title and medium (5) digital graphic, a colour image of an aluminum fish sculpture suspended within a link of fence. The image is set against a white background with a caption detailing the artwork's title and medium
