Apay’uq Moore is an acrylic painter and muralist based in Aleknagik. Her art portrays themes of salmon and community, and the people and landscapes of Bristol Bay. In her dynamic paintings, these realms often mingle, with salmon blending seamlessly into the sky, or people becoming visually intertwined with the land. Her latest piece is a mural, located on a wall on Kanakanak Road headed into Dillingham. In the mural, vibrant salmon strips hang drying along the water, with the silhouettes of drift and settnetters harvesting salmon in the background. KDLG’s Jessie Sheldon sat down with Apay’uq to talk about her work in Bristol Bay, and the role fish plays in her art.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
KDLG: Thanks for joining us, Apay’uq.
Apay’uq Moore: Yeah, good morning.
KDLG: Murals are such a unique artistic medium. Can you tell me about why you're drawn to public art?
Moore: The public work has actually been really, it’s something that has come to me, I haven't really sought it out big time. The last one that we did was for BBNC (Bristol Bay Native Corporation) 50 year anniversary. And since salmon is such a central part of our lifestyle here, we just kind of gravitated towards the salmon because it was the natural topic.
KDLG: Yeah, can you tell me more about that piece titled, ‘Imagine Our Future’ and what it holds and the process behind it?
Moore: Yeah, so BBNC wanted to contract a mural, and they have been really great about supporting the freedom of art. And so they came to me with the topic, they said, “our theme for our anniversary is ‘Imagine our Future,’ and you can come up with a drawing on your own.” And, to me ‘Imagine our Future’ was, of course, centralized around salmon and how it ties each generation together. So it's not only our past, but as we move forward, I just know that our region and our people have included salmon in every step forward along the way.
KDLG: And what or who are the biggest sources of inspiration for your art?
Moore: Well, I'd say my career really got a big push during the Pebble (Mine) fight. It was a really easy way to hold on to something that was important. And it was such a heated controversy that there was just so much inspiration, and I guess possessiveness over what I had held close to my heart. So the salmon were just a natural go-to because we were fighting so passionately for our region, and the salmon as our way of life. So that pushed me into like this whole other realm of just constantly reminding myself what we're all here for in Bristol Bay. What defines us, how we’ve come to be, and it was just years and years of this sort of thinking about how are salmon important to us. What do the salmon mean to us? And as the fight progressed, so did our lives. And yeah, so having a family and needing to learn how to put fish up ourselves and how to process them. And then also go from one part of fishing, which was like the commercial fishing industry was something I was more familiar with as a youth. And then moving into this motherly role as a subsistence user and wanting to provide fish for my family. And then now as the years have gone on, it's become one of those consistent things in our life that makes us feel safe. Right, like we do so well as humans with these consistent things in our lives, and these are traditions. And now the salmon have just been this iconic thing throughout throughout my entire life that have been always that have always been there.
KDLG: Yes, your paintings have a really strong sense of place with, you know, themes of community and salmon and both the people and landscapes of Bristol Bay. Can you talk more about those themes that drive your work?
Moore: How do I explain it? With my work, I try not to work from photos. And something that's really important, is formulating these images with my imagination. Because to me, that feels closer to what we're experiencing in the moment of what the themes are. So I'd say when you imagine what the fish are, there's so much more than what one single photo will offer you right? It's so hard to capture all of the different elements. And so to capture, or to draw out emotion from people who are going to be viewing our artwork, including myself. It's just a whole feeling experience. It's a lot about heart, and just wanting to relate to our people here. And offer pictures and artwork that people can relate to, because it truly such a unique place.
KDLG: And what kind of paint are you using?
Moore: Well, for Dillingham it's whatever's at L&M usually
KDLG: Right. And can you talk a little bit more about your time fishing in Bristol Bay, you know, the transition from commercial fishing to subsistence fishing and just your time on the water?
Moore: Yeah, when we were kids, I thought that every family commercial fished. I thought every single family had a drift boat. No matter where you were in the world, you guys fished in the summertime, that is what I imagined the world to be. So my dad has had a commercial fishing boat for my entire life, along with his dad, and just our circle of people. My grandpa fished in Togiak, my uncle (too), so it was a big drift community that we grew up in. And then once I was in college, I started working for (the Alaska Department of) Fish and Game at the counting towers, and so that was my connection to the commercial fishing industry was being at thebeing at the headwaters and counting the fish for the escapement, and seeing that side of it. And then that evolved into finishing school and coming back home, and finding my place in subsistence. So it's been sort of like this full circle of starting out on the boats and being able to see what sits behind the scenes during the season and how the fishery is operated and managed from the biology side, and then being able to be a part of the subsistence fishery as a mom.
KDLG: Well, thank you so much Apay’uq
Moore: Yeah, you're welcome.
For more on her Apay'uq Moore, her work and past mural projects, check out her website apayuq.com
