Andy Miki’s animals are among the most radically simplified sculptures produced in Arviat. With astonishing freedom, Miki reduces his subjects to their most essential characteristics, allowing posture, proportion, and silhouette to suggest what anatomical detail might otherwise describe. In this unusual sculpture, two long-necked creatures emerge from a shared body of stone. One stretches skyward, its slender neck rising almost vertically, while its companion bends forward in a broad, sweeping curve. The contrast between their postures gives the pair a curious sense of companionship, as though each were responding to something beyond the other’s view.

Yet the particular pleasure of this carving lies in its sculptural invention. The long, sinuous necks spring from a broad triangular body, their opposing curves enclosing a deep hollow that is as important to the composition as the stone itself. Solid and space, surface and shadow play against one another, giving these sparse forms an unexpected animation. Much of the stone retains the rough, rasped texture of the carving process, its shallow cuts and scratched surfaces inviting the hand as much as the eye. Beneath the supple curves of the animals, the stepped base introduces a firm geometric foundation. There is something wonderfully peculiar about these creatures, whose identities remain uncertain despite the distinct personalities suggested by their postures. Miki has given us scarcely enough information to name them, yet more than enough to make them come alive.

MBL