JACKOPOSIE OOPAKAK (1948-) IQALUIT (FROBISHER BAY)
Composition with Figures and Arctic Animals, c. 2005
polar bear jaw bone, 9 x 7.5 x 4.5 in (22.9 x 19.1 x 11.4 cm)
unsigned.
LOT 156
ESTIMATE: $2,500 — $3,500
unsigned.
LOT 156
ESTIMATE: $2,500 — $3,500
Further images
The young Jackoposie became an ivory carver like his adopted father Oopakak; after moving to Iqaluit in the 1970s he enrolled in a jewellery-making course. Jackoposie worked almost exclusively in...
The young Jackoposie became an ivory carver like his adopted father Oopakak; after moving to Iqaluit in the 1970s he enrolled in a jewellery-making course. Jackoposie worked almost exclusively in natural organic materials: antler, ivory, and bone. His art is notable for its naturalism and its attention to detail, in scenes of hunting and camp life, and the many depictions of the Arctic fauna he loved. Jackoposie’s most spectacular works are a series of fully-carved antler rack compositions; the most famous version has been on frequent public display at the National Gallery in Ottawa. Composition with Figures and Arctic Animals is carved in another of the artist’s favoured mediums; the particular shape of polar bear jaw bone lends itself beautifully to gracefully arching, harmonious compositions of intertwining human and animal figures.
Literature: For a similar composition in the same material see Walker’s Auctions, Ottawa, May 2017, Lot 46. See the same catalogue Lot 93 for a large, complex antler composition by the artist.
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