This work depicts two hunters cutting seal on a wooden plank as otherworldly creatures quietly move in their midst. With close inspection one can find colourful beings with slender, undulating bodies, while their heads vary from a single eyeball to a brain to a multiplicity of protrusions. To the left of the people, a large walrus lying on its back is next to be butchered. The otherwise barren landscape is sprinkled with small pink and green plants, suggesting that it is summertime. This richly detailed work is one of many scenes of life on the land based on Ashoona’s personal memories of boating, camping, and clamming with her family in the summer months.
Shuvinai Ashoona: Mapping Worlds
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Shuvinai Ashoona, Untitled (two people cutting seal), 2011
Fineliner pen, graphite and coloured pencil on paper, 121.92 x 121.92 cm, private collection. Photo credit: Toni Hafkenscheid.