Creatures of varying shapes, colours, and sizes crawl across the rocky landscape in this fantastical composition. Standing in the centre is a tall, lime green figure with the face of a woman, dangerously sharp nails, and legs that morph into animal body parts. A three-eyed child is peering curiously out of the back of the creature’s amauti. The orange and brown monstrous figure seated on the left leans its body toward the mother and child, seemingly made curious by their presence. Similarly, a host of other hybrid creatures creep towards the central figure with unclear intentions—are they friendly, or is something iniquitous about to occur? Ashoona’s bold and sophisticated use of colour, which first appeared in her work in the early 2000s, powerfully enhances the liveliness of this scene.
Shuvinai Ashoona: Mapping Worlds
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Shuvinai Ashoona, Creatures, 2015
Fineliner pen and coloured pencil on paper, 96.5 x 127 cm, Collection of Suzanne Lamarre. Photo credit: Toni Hafkenscheid.