Aedan Corey

Aedan Corey is a Two-Spirit artist and writer from Iqaluktuuttiaq (Cambridge Bay), NU, who is currently based in Ottawa, ON. They engage in a variety of different artistic practises, with the predominant one being stick and poke tattooing (hand poke tattooing). They also enjoy creating digital art and have published a short book of their poetry entitled INUUJUNGA: I AM ALIVE. Their artistic practice explores themes of queerness, family and mental health—all meaningful topics for the artist.  

Corey became interested in tattooing after the Inuit Tattoo Revitalization Project came to their hometown in December 2017. Through the project the artist received their first tattoo: a V tattoo on the back of their neck in the style of their grandmother’s region. “That kind of started me on this journey of wanting to start tattooing for people because I saw how much impact it had on our communities and on the people receiving the tattoos. And I wanted to be part of that,” says Corey.[1] After moving to Ottawa in August 2018, Corey received another tattoo from a local Inuk tattoo artist who walked them through the process of tattooing and shared helpful resources. From there, Corey went on to purchase their own tattooing supplies and practised on themself during the first COVID-19 lockdown in the spring of 2020. They eventually began tattooing others and have grown their practice from there. 

Corey enjoys tattooing a variety of different things, but their favourite is traditional tunniit, such as ones that are tattooed on the face or wrists. On a trip up to Iqaluktuuttiaq this summer, the artist was able to tattoo many people from their hometown. They state that all the tattoos “we’re really, really meaningful,” but that doing the traditional face tunniit was extra special because “I could just see the immediate impact it had on the people I was tattooing. It was so special.”[1] 

Digital art is another artistic practice that Corey likes to explore in their spare time. They enjoy creating art that has meaning and is something that they feel connected to, such as two digital pieces they created that are based off of them tattooing their mother and sister. When not engaging in digital art creations, the artist also enjoys beading as a way to pass the time and express themselves creatively. 

This Profile was made possible through support from RBC Emerging Artists.