Waiting for a Seal

Description

Untitled (Waiting for a Seal) by Shuvinai Ashoona – original Inuit Art hand drawing  available for purchase with DaVic Gallery of Native Canadian Arts.

Condition:          No condition noted.

Description by Artist:     No description by artist found.

Notes from DaVic Gallery:    Hopefully this seal hunter will have a good day and his family and village will eat.  Seal hunters would stand hours on end by a breathing hole in hopes that a seal may emerge for some air.  The abstraction of this faceless hunter’s shape is interesting with upper body disproportionately larger than his lower body; legs are much narrower below the knees even though hunter most likely is wearing boots; right arm clearly much larger than left arm.  Even though both hunter and seal are dark and faceless, this image clearly depicts dominance of the hunter over the seal.  There is no part of the seal that will not be used with skin used for making boots, meat to eat, fat for quliq, bones for tools.

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