Couzyn van Heuvelen: CAMP

Couzyn van Heuvelen: CAMP

24 May to 24 August 2025

Curated by Leila Timmins and Erin Szikora
 

Born in Iqaluit, Nunavut, but living predominantly in Southern Ontario, Couzyn van Heuvelen’s artistic practice explores Inuit cultural sovereignty and the tools and technologies of living on the land. Known for his large-scale sculptural works, van Heuvelen’s playful approach seamlessly blends traditional practices with contemporary materials and fabrication processes, asserting the resiliency and adaptability of Inuit culture.

The sculptural installations in this exhibition build from van Heuvelen’s earlier investigations into hunting and fishing practices by shifting focus to the chores and communal spaces that take shape around the harvesting and preparation of food. Drawing on the seasonal practice of setting up camp in warmer months, van Heuvelen participates in the celebration that takes place when Northern communities gather to hunt and fish together. It’s here where skills are passed from one generation to the next and the sustenance provided by the land is gathered, then shared with friends and neighbours. Van Heuvelen honours these practices in his work, reenacting the processes of fleshing seal, tanning hides, drying pitsik, and filleting char in materials new and familiar to his artistic practice.

This work is shaped by the artist’s own formative experiences with his family and his desire to connect with the love and labour of his homelands. He demonstrates how the camp is a site for shared learning, community-building, and joy. Situating viewers in this conceptual and cultural space, CAMP addresses the critical role of land-based practices in Inuit self-determination, food sovereignty in the North, and the pleasures of celebrating in community around food.
 

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About the Artist:
Couzyn van Heuvelen is an Inuk sculptor and multi-disciplinary installation artist. Born in Iqaluit, Nunavut, but living in Southern Ontario for most of his life, van Heuvelen’s work explores Inuit culture and identity, new and old technologies, and personal narratives. While rooted in the history and traditions of Inuit art, his work strays from established Inuit art making methods and explores a range of fabrication processes. His use of unconventional materials and fabrication processes, combined with elements of Inuit culture, mirrors his own process of exploring how traditional practices continue to influence his everyday life. Van Heuvelen holds a BFA from York University and an MFA from NSCAD University. His work has been included in many group exhibitions across Canada, including the inaugural exhibition INUA at WAG-Qaumajuq (2020), the touring exhibition ᐊᕙᑖᓂᑦ ᑕᒪᐃᓐᓂᑦ ᓄᓇᑐᐃᓐᓇᓂᑦ Among All These Tundras (2018–19), and Arctic/Amazon: Networks of Global Indigeneity at the Power Plant (2022). Van Heuvelen is currently represented by Fazakas Gallery in Vancouver, BC.

About the Curators:
Leila Timmins is the Senior Curator at The Robert McLaughlin Gallery. With over ten years of curatorial experience, she works collaboratively with artists and positions exhibitions as social gestures, foregrounding critical conversations and public engagement. Previously she worked as the Curator of Exhibitions and Public Programs at Gallery 44 and has held positions at Workman Arts, Gallery TPW, The Justina M. Barnicke Gallery, The Images Festival and the Helen and Morris Belkin Gallery, as well as taught in the curatorial studies department at OCADU. She holds an honours BA in Art History from the University of British Columbia, and an MA in Art History from the University of Toronto. Currently, she is the Chair of the Durham College Fine Art Advisory Committee and sits on the Education and Community Engagement Committee at the Art Gallery of Ontario. In 2017, she was awarded the ARCCO Emerging Cultural Leader award and the FOCUS Curatorial Residency with the Institut Francais in Paris. She is a member of Curators of Canadian Historical Art (COCHA) and is a founding member of the EMILIA-AMALIA feminist working group.

Erin Szikora is an emerging curator, researcher, and beadwork artist of Cayuga, Scottish, and Hungarian ancestry. Born and raised in Guelph and currently based in Toronto, she holds a Bachelor of Arts in Art History and Visual Studies from the University of Toronto and a Master of Arts in Contemporary Art, Design, and New Media Art Histories from OCAD University. In 2022, she was awarded the Middlebrook Prize for Young Canadian Curators for her exhibition Homecoming and the Galeries Ontario Galleries Public Program Award for the project Mamanaw Pekiskwewina | Mother Tongues Dish With One Spoon Territory, co-curated by Missy LeBlanc. She currently holds the position of Interim Curator at the Doris McCarthy Gallery.
 

This exhibition is presented with support from the Ontario Arts Council and the Government of Ontario.