One of the most compelling qualities of Bountiful Bird is its strong material presence, seen in the careful articulation of the creature’s anatomy. Talons, beaks, and plumage are drawn by Kenojuak with extraordinary precision. These details are then carried into the lithograph medium by Pootoogook Qiatsuq, whose translation preserves the sharpness of Kenojuak’s line and the fullness of her imagination with equal skill. Together, their collaboration results in a form that is both dramatic and otherworldly.

The presentation of Bountiful Bird inevitably calls to mind Kenojuak’s iconic Enchanted Owl. Here, the bird’s commanding eyes lock onto the viewer with the same forceful intensity, and the long, feathered tail radiates outward in a similarly rhythmic pattern. Yet, where Enchanted Owl maintains some measure of natural likeness, Bountiful Bird departs into invention. From the tail, heads sprout at the tips as if popping out of sleeves, a comical and surprising conceit that transforms solemnity into play. It is a comical flourish that reveals Kenojuak’s delight in transforming the familiar into the unexpected.

ND