Davidee Mannumi

This remarkable and apparently unique transformation sculpture from Iqaluit (Frobisher Bay) dating to the early 1960s is documented both in George Swinton’s original 1972 publication Sculpture of the Eskimo, and again in the revised 1994 iteration of the text. Attributed first to the artist Munamee of Iqaluit, and later specifically to Davidee Mannumi. Although Davidee Mannumi resided in both Kinngait (Cape Dorset) and Iqaluit, the work is a significant departure from the artist’s known oeuvre. (1)

Swinton had an eye for images of sinuous and startlingly otherworldly strangeness, and favoured the output of artists such as Eli Sallualu Qinuajua. (2) In both the 1972 and 1994 editions of his seminal book, he featured the present work alongside Kiugak (Kiawak) Ashoona’s iconic Howling Transforming Spirit. It is not difficult to see why. Mannumi’s voluminous Transforming Spirit is a decidedly languid – if menacing – counterpoint to the gnashing teeth and hard edges of Kiawak’s 1963 creation.

The brooding figure’s broad high shoulders, elongated transforming face, and forward leaning torso are expertly balanced on a single foot. Uniquely, the creature’s back exudes tendrils of hair conjoined with a disembodied humanoid head.

(1) Houston, James. “Davidee Mannumi.” The Canadian Encyclopedia. January 30, 2008. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/davidee-mannumi
(2) Personal correspondence with Harold Seidelman, author and colleague of George Swinton.