The subject of the mother and child belongs to one of the most persistent themes in art, not only in Inuit art but across cultures, where it appears as an image of care, dependence, and physical connection. For John Tiktak, the motif was central from the very beginning of his career and became both a constant source of invention and one of his most fertile subjects. Again and again, he returned to the bond between mother and child, finding new sculptural solutions for how two forms might be bound together while remaining distinct.

In the present work, the sculptural forms flow into one another, the contours of mother and babe merging before separating again. Although the treatment is highly abstracted, as is characteristic of Tiktak’s work, the proportions and posture establish the figure as a standing woman, while the ample curve of her amautiq hood clearly shelters the presence of a child.

The mother's arms are articulated through hollows that introduce a sense of lift and openness without diminishing the sculpture's solidity. Such voids stand among Tiktak's most original sculptural inventions. Here, they not only separate the arms from the body but also organize the composition through a measured interplay of stone and space.

Tiktak leaves the evidence of his carving process visible, allowing the surface to retain the memory of its making. Bore holes punctuate the stone with small circles. Rasp and file marks trace faint ridges across the form, while cuts follow the contours of the body. These traces catch the light differently from the smoother planes, producing a surface that feels alive not only to the eye but to the hand as well.

ND