Although the print is titled Kikgavik and the Hunter, the forms of the animals in this print, while immediate in their presence, are just out of reach in full identification as birds. These silhouetted figures, inked a uniform and unpenetrating black by Kiakshuk’s son, Lukta Qiatusk, appear like elegantly dancing sprites that are reminiscent of the amusements of traditional hand shadow games played inside a tent. While their sharp features and menacing sizes are shocking, the print maintains a playful feeling.

References: This image is reproduced in James A. Houston, Eskimo Prints, (Barre, MA, USA: Barre Publishers: 1967), p. 44-5, as “Hunter and Birds, 1961 [sic]” and Christine Lalonde and Leslie Boyd Ryan, Uuturautiit: Cape Dorset 1959-2009, (Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada, 2009), p. 54. Image is reproduced in Gerald McMaster, ed., Inuit Modern: The Samuel and Esther Sarick Collection, (Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 2010), p. 165 alongside the original pencil sketch by the artist.

*Not reproduced in the 1960 catalogue but was part of the annual collection.