Additional Images

Provenance:

Private Collection, London, ON

Note:

When asked about this stonecut in a 1979 interview with Marion E. Jackson, Pootoogook responded: “I have never seen a spirit. Perhaps if I saw a spirit, I would have a heart attack. I have heard people talking about having seen spirits. It would be quite a different story to me if I had seen one.”

The daughter of pioneering artist Pitseolak Ashoona, recalls: “I draw almost like my mother’s drawings. Perhaps the reason why is because I used to watch my mother drawing…even though I don’t try to copy what she does, sometimes it turns out that I draw almost like my mother’s drawings.” The idea of shared techniques aligns with Pootoogook’s subject matter, which is notable for its documentation of collective histories, depictions of camp life, and traditional legends.

Pootoogook’s early work, like Bird Spirits, centred around Inuit spirituality and stories, using a monochromatic or limited palette. Stripped of the inessential, Pootoogook’s narrative becomes the focus of this print. The central figure in Bird Spirits appears as if startled – caught in the act – an impression conveyed by the wonderfully descriptive lines that the artist used to depict the spirit’s outstretched arms. If this is the decisive moment, the climax of the story, the viewer is left wondering – what happens next?

References:
Odette Leroux, Marion E. Jackson, Minnie Aodla Freeman, Inuit Women Artists, (Vancouver/Toronto: Douglas & McIntyre, 1994), reproduced p. 139