Name/Title
untitled (emerging figure)Entry/Object ID
2019.02.01Description
Nick Sikkuark (1943-2013) was born near Hanningajuq (Garry Lake) in the central sub-Arctic Kivalliq Region of Nunavut. His life was filled with change and contrast. Orphaned as a child and raised in the Oblate missionary in Gjoa Haven, Nunavut, Sikkuark had spent the first years of his life learning the traditions, culture, and spiritual beliefs of the Netsilik (people of the seal), only to be taught the principles of Christianity. Around his late teens, he travelled south to Winnipeg and Ottawa to attend seminary school to become a priest. Sikkuark later returned North after deciding not to pursue priesthood and worked as a carpenter in several communities.
A self-taught artist, Sikkuark is most known for his fantastical sculptures made of whalebone, ivory, caribou antlers and other natural materials. Many of his works are rooted in the stories and beliefs of Inuit shamanism and spirituality. They are often unsettling and strange, inspired by ideas of transformation and individuals with mysterious, powerful, and sometimes superhuman abilities. His transition to drawing later in life reflects a similar interest in depicting his spirituality. Ranging from monstrous figures to abstract lines, each image shows supernatural beings or forms in a state of movement or transition.
Sikkuark’s untitled (emerging forms) depicts radiating lines of colour. What appears as a simple abstract composition is revealed to be a figure-ground illusion by the artist. In the foreground, the image of a shaman manifests out of the colourful forms on the canvas. The figure stands in profile with their torso and upper half of their body visible. The work highlights the artist's interest in the figure of the shaman and plays with the viewer’s perspective to emphasize their connection to otherworldly powers. This work was featured in the first Toronto Biennial in 2019.Artwork Details
Medium
pentel pen and colored pencil on paperDimensions
Height
41.9 cmWidth
27.9 cm