NAPACHIE SHARKY, Sculpting Talent II, group show, Oct 23-Nov 5, 2004, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver

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"Preening Bird"

Napachie Sharky, "Preening Bird," 2003, serpentine, 8" x 22" x 6".

NAPACHIE SHARKY

BRITISH COLUMBIA: Sculpting Talent II, group show, Oct 23-Nov 5, 2004 Inuit Gallery of Vancouver

By Beverly Cramp

As an emerging Inuit artist from Cape Dorset, Napachie Sharky takes the best of his community’s traditional world and melds it with modern sensibilities and technical sculpting methods. He carves in serpentine stone and many of Sharky’s works imply some aspect of spring and summer. A profusion of birds is an intrinsic part of the Arctic summer and a major theme in his sculpture. The tender embrace of a mother bird sheltering its young evokes the instinctual imperative of protecting our young. A goose rears on its legs, wings spread, but with a provocative shake of its hips. Sharky’s work also includes depictions of every day life: the Inuk on his ski-doo, waving at us as he passes by; the hunter with rifle raised to bring down one of those soaring birds the artist is so fond of sculpting; and children climbing on rocks, pursued by a puppy that is having some difficulty keeping up.

Represented by: Inuit Gallery of Vancouver, Vancouver, BC; The Quest Gallery, Banff, AB; 
The Upstairs Gallery, Winnipeg, MB.