Inuit art: Whalebone (Baleen) Collage
Inuit Artist: James Alivaktuk
Size: 12 across, 10" high, 10" wide
Community: Pangirtung, NU 11/24
Stone: Mixed Media & Whale bone
id: ndc-259-179467dijjy
** U.S. buyers cannot purchase this piece due to ivory and whale bone restrictions by the Canadian Government Customs. We ship only to a Canadian address.
**This Item is Eligible for Our 0% Interest Layaway Plan.
**Provenance: Nov. 2024 James Alivaktuk recently carved this stunning composition using two whalebones. On The Wings of a Prayer is the companion piece to Tusk! Tusk! Both Alivaktuk carvings are almost certainly destined to find a final home in a National Art Gallery.
Masterpiece Carving! Museum quality Sculpture!
Some of the most inspirational Inuit art is carved using whalebone and ivory.
For me, the inspiration of On The Wings of a Prayer is the imagination and the ability of an artist to create a piece with such complexity and beauty.
Bone is a medium that demands the artist to work within its strict boundaries.
A bony prominence or a large hole must be seen as a deliberate part of the PLAN and not an obstacle.
To say that James has met this parameter is an understatement.
I had to make On The Wings of a Prayer a CURATOR'S CHOICE.
Wings is a collage of a person holding fast to a large flying bird. Beneath the powerful legs of the bird is a Inuk paddling a small kayak.
The incredible long black talons of the bird suggest this bird is a Raptor.
The power of the bird, the excitement on the faces of the kayaker and the bird's passenger create a perpetual sense of "free flight"!
You can feel the wind on your own face.
Your muscles are tensing as you too grasp the bird as he soars higher and higher!
The young kayaker is paddling faster and faster to keep up to the speed of the bird and his passenger.
I have so much admiration for the talented carvers who are able to create such obvious movement into their pieces.
You will find yourself feeling more and more elated as you examine On The Wings of a Prayer over and over, each time discovering little nooks and crannies with great delight.
PROUDLY CANADIAN SINCE 2007
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