of the North

There are few places on Earth where industrialisation, cultural globalisation and climate change have had such a sweeping effect as in the North Pole. Over ninety years later, Robert Flaherty’s idealised portrait of “the kindly, brave, simple Eskimo”, is further from reality than ever. That is why Dominic Gagnon’s answer to Nanook of the North (1922) is called simply of the North, a title that also refers to the origins of the images shown.
Instead of travelling to the North Pole, the Canadian mash-up artist mined the Internet: his film is a montage of videos posted by inhabitants, drilling platform workers and tourists. Their self depictions are sometimes shameless: Gagnon juxtaposes household scenes and shots of expeditions in the snow with images of morbid drunkenness, messing around with children, abusing animals and coarse exhibitionism. Traditional throat singers, local hip-hop and a Inuktitut version of Let It Be fill the soundtrack.

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