In her opening speech, Eikeland shared the story of Gustav Juel Wiig, one of Amundsen's crew members, who so much loved the arctic Canada and the Inuit people there that he almost decided to stay behind to marry an Inuit woman and live the nomadic life of the Inuit. However, Amundsen convinced him to come along on the Gjøa and leave behind this newfound love, but unfortunately he fell fatally ill shortly after, and was put to rest at Kings Point, Yukon. Gustav Juel Wiig’s grave marker will be shown as part of the exhibition in Whitehorse.
The exhibition, presented in cooperation with the Fram Museum in Oslo, consists of Amundsen’s very own photos from Gjoa Haven in the Canadian North (Nunavut). Amundsen spent almost two years in Gjoa Haven before he became the first person ever to sail through the Northwest Passage. Amundsen and the crew on his ship Gjøa established a close relationship with the Inuit in the area. His photos are largely a documentation of the life of the Inuit, and reflect the great influence the Inuit’s traditional clothing and skills had on Roald Amundsen’s own development as a polar explorer. The Inuit have in large part been left out of the Canadian-Norwegian polar history, but with this new Roald Amundsen exhibition, the Embassy and the Fram Museum want to show that the knowledge Amundsen gained from living with the Inuit helped him win the race to the South Pole.
The polar explorer's achievements are celebrated with original photos from Roald Amundsen’s expedition to the Canadian North and Arctic. The photos and lantern slides have not been shown in Canada since Amundsen himself toured the world with his lectures, and they offer a unique view on his connection with the Canadian Aboriginal people, and the knowledge he gained from his stay in the Arctic.
The Embassy has published a catalogue with the photos from the exhibition and it will be available at the exhibition venue.
The exhibition will be displayed at MacBride Museum of Yukon History in Whitehorse until 15 June 2012.
For directions and opening hours please visit the museum's website.
The exhibition Cold Recall – Roald Amundsen’s reflections from the Northwest Passage will spend the summer in Gimli, Manitoba at the New Iceland Heritage Museum where it will open on 28th of June.
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