Woman Tending Kudlik
Inukjuak
c1970
Stone, bone
H 33cm
COMMENTS
The qulliq is an oval oil lamp, made from stone. Seal oil provided the fuel and a small rim of flame was created by lighting wicks made from the silky grass-like bloom of Arctic cotton. Fuel could not be wasted and so it was the woman’s job to ensure that the wicks were high enough to provide necessary heat and light, but that oil was being used effciently. A bent stick, also made from stone, was utilized for this purpose. Johnny Inukpuk has shown this woman, with a child in the hood of her amauti (woman’s parka) using this implement to tend the oil lamp. The ame of the qulliqis made from ivory. Inukpuk is one of the most well-known of the first generation Inuit artists and this gure of the woman, with powerful large hands and wide shoulders, is typical of his greatly sought-after sculptures.
Nunavik Region:
Sculptures from this region, going back to the early days of the contemporary period of Inuit art, have distinctive characteristics in both style and subject matter. Stone across Nunavik varies from a soft ‘soapstone’ that could be polished or left unpolished to a beautiful veined hard stone. Artists tended to add details to their sculptures, either by contrasting polished and unpolished area or by adding antler or ivory to achieve as muchrealism as possible. These realistic works served a narrative purpose; artists wanted toshow all aspects of traditional life.
