Born in 1941 at Princess Mary Lake in the Kazan River area of the Northwest Territories, Irene Avaalaaqiaq settled at Qamanittuaq (Baker Lake) around 1959. Like many Inuit at the time, Avaalaaqiaq began making art through the local government-sponsored arts and crafts program in order to earn money to support her family. She worked across media, making prints, drawings, sculpture and wall hangings. She was given a solo exhibition at the Isaacs Gallery in Toronto as early as 1972 and is now considered to be one of the first and most influential wall hanging artists from Qamanittuaq. As a very young child, Avaalaaqiaq lost her mother and was raised on the land with her grandmother, living in isolation for many years. She was therefore deeply influenced by the stories and experiences recounted during that time. These stories and myths dominate the artist’s oeuvre and fill her wall hangings with transformation figures, animals, humans and shamanistic imagery.