Lot 147
NELSON TAKKIRUQ (1930-)
Additional Images
Note:
The stylistic similarities between brothers Judas Ullulaq and Nelson Takkiruq is especially apparent in this work. The approach to carving is less concerned with representation and more focused on animation and expression.
The believed subject matter for the work is the Netsilik story of Amayuqyuq, a mythical creature whose story is told as a precautionary tale for children.
In conversation with Joseph Shuqslak, Judas Ullulaq provides an account of the creature as follows, “‘Amayuqyuq’ means ‘kidnapper of little children.’ This story about a fearsome female abductor was told to children to keep them from wandering too far from the camp, and getting into danger with wild animals, such as polar bears or wolves, or from getting lost on the tundra.”
Darlene Coward Wight, Art & Expression of the Netsilik, Winnipeg Art Gallery, 2000, pg. 169