“I would say being proud of being Inuk is my inspiration of art….I want my art to be a celebration of Inuit and to be a love letter to Inuit,”  says Siku Rojas, whose artist name is Yurak. They are a painter, print maker, Illustrator and jewelry maker, and emerging tattooist from Iqaluit, Nunavut. They have family from both Igloolik and Ecuador and their artist name comes from their Ecuadorian heritage. They are the second youngest of four siblings in a very creative family and they have been making art since they were a young child.

Currently, Rojas is a student learning Inuktitut. When they are not a student, they are a full-time artist. Their art journey started on Instagram, they were posting to show their work and people started to ask about their pricing and their art business started to grow. Working at the museum in Iqaluit helped them move towards art as a career through increased exposure to art. They took a nine month Entrepreneurs program to learn the business side of things, something they struggled with. While they don’t enjoy pricing or the idea of being a business, being able to be a full-time artist when they left their job at the museum because of that support was exciting.

“In every culture, everywhere in the world, they want something beautiful. People are drawn to beauty.” 

They chose the career paths they are on because they felt the most aligned. “I just truly love creating. I love art, and I don't think I could have seen myself in any other position in life,” they explain. If Rojas had to, they might be a wilderness first aid trainer because they enjoy hands on work. They sold their first piece in an exhibition in high school and that’s what opened their eyes to the possibilities of life as an artist, “I can make things that people enjoy, that I enjoy, and and that can be my life. That's fun.”

In learning their language, they have a vision of how life could change. “I hope that learning more Inuktitut really changes the way my brain thinks, because I'm thinking in English all the time, and so that creates a whole different worldview. If I can actually focus in and know root words, and actually hone into culture better, I think I could make a more authentic piece of art, and I can also connect with and support my customers more by connecting through language. As a practicing tattooist, I think it's really important to be able to speak Inuktitut with my customers and to people who I'm able to mark so that there's comfort.” 

Their advice for students considering leaving home is based on their experiences of going to school in BC as a teen and struggling with homesickness. They advise, “Keep it in your heart that this is temporary, that you're doing this for a purpose, and that eventually you can go home. You can be surrounded by culture again, and you can have language again and and even though all that's separate for now, it's not permanent. Do what you're there for. Finish your schooling, get your knowledge, take that and absorb everything you can. Take opportunities that you can while you're away from home, and then once you're home, you can use that.” Having the support of Indigenous friends was important for them and they suggest finding connections to help while you’re away.

Calling home and enjoying country food also helped ease loneliness. Pieces of home were comforting and helped keep them from missing out on school experiences from homesickness. Rojas made the best of their experience and got involved in after school programs to stay busy. 

If they could share a message with their younger self it would be that they are loved. “I think that's a big center of a lot of hurt within the world, is that none of us feel loved enough. I think to just really give that to myself as a young kid would have been more helpful, and to remember that it's possible.” Growing up Rojas dreamed of being an artist so having become one is exciting. They would also say, “Be confident, trust yourself. You will get to do what you want to do, as long as you keep going and you focus into it. I personally, really think it's important to start speaking truth into what you want before it even happens. Because when you believe it can happen, then you can make it happen, and there'll be opportunities that will help you get there. You have to start with yourself. You have to be the first believer in yourself.”

To manage their mental health, they go to therapy to center themselves. Rojas also connects back into their body and tries to stay in the present moment to avoid overthinking things. Self-compassion is something else they find helpful, remembering everyone hurts and struggles with insecurity and to extend themselves the same compassion they would others. Sleep is another area of focus for their wellness. 

To find balance and manage the load on their creativity that comes from commodifying something they enjoy, Rojas has put boundaries on the work they take. They don’t accept every commission offered or work with everyone who inquires because that can detract from their enjoyment and excitement. Their approach to life is anti-capitalist and they believe life should prioritize enjoyment and allow people to thrive rather than keep them stuck in a nine to five. 

When it comes to inspiration, Rojas is inspired by living and by who they are. “The exciting thing about art is that it comes from your lived experience. It comes from these things that you've seen, things you've heard. It's all different types of information coming and then being funneled through you,” they explain. Their art celebrates the multiculturalism and the many ways to be Inuit. “Every Inuk is different and amazing. And we have all different lived experiences, different dialects, different landscapes, and so all of that is important to an individual. And I think that's kind of what I want to appreciate within art,” they elaborate. They share their art on instagram and Facebook under their artist name @yyuurraakk.  

Being proud of being Inuk has inspired their art and Siku Rojas' work is a love letter to Inuit. They dreamed of being an artist since they were young and now their dream has come true. Learning their language to deepen their artistic practice and connections with customers, they are reshaping their worldview one word at a time. 

Thanks to Alison Tedford Seaweed for authoring this article.