Grooming Dinner

Description

Untitled (Grooming Dinner) by Shuvinai Ashoona – Inuit Art from Cape Dorset 2006 original hand drawing collection presented by DaVic Gallery of Native Canadian Arts.

Condition:          mild horizontal paper crease faintly visible along top margin.   It is common that original drawings will show minor handling marks and probably stains caused by the artist themselves.  It is also common to see, particularly with Shuvinai’s drawings, uneven paper trimming.

Description by Artist:     No description by artist found.

Notes from DaVic Gallery:    I think we could differ in what we think the end of this story will be.  There’s the optimistic view where this man and this bear are good friends and simply taking turns to groom each other; then there is, well … the not so optimistic view that perhaps this bear is a bit picky with his food and is making sure it’s clean for dinner.  They’re inside an igloo so it’s winter and the floor is covered with sealskin and perhaps caribou hide.  The hunter looks relaxed and trusting and indeed the bear looks quite tamed and friendly.  Perhaps this came to Shuvina’s imagination from hearing a story such as Nanuk, the master of bears that decides which hunters are worthy of hunting bears for the way the killed bears and the respect the hunter paid the killed bears.  Bears would be willing to be killed by those hunters chosen by Nanuk.

The blank sheet of letter-size (8.5” x 11”) paper covering part of the image in the last picture is for size reference.