Kiviuq, the immortal wandering hero, is a story that continues to be passed down through oral tradition throughout the Arctic. While many artists have tackled the story in some form, none have done so quite like Victoria Mamnguqsualuk. She brought the hero to life in her work time and time again, and in a narrative form and style that was distinctively hers. As with many of her drawings and prints, the narrative in this work on cloth is not strictly linear; characters make repeat appearances in the somewhat bumpy chain of events, with the portrayal including some details and eliminating others. This work also has more mirrored asymmetry than we find in most of her imagery, the upper half featuring a man and woman confronting a remarkable animal-human hybrid composition. The two bears below watch separate scenes: one views the giant about to be slain by the work’s hero Kiviuq, while the other watches a third bear being attacked by a hunter (possibly also Kiviuq). As in many of her textile works, Mamnguqsualuk has enriched the felt appliqué characters with gorgeous embroidery, giving them the subtle illusion of texture and depth; long chains of feather stitches made from variegated thread delineate clothing seams and hairlines. The undulating patterns of colours create a lovely feeling of otherworldliness in this fascinating scene, which is bordered by the trademark chorus of viewers with mouths agape in amazement.

References: For a quite similar and also spectacularly embroidered work on cloth by the artist see Walker’s Auctions, Nov. 2016, Lot 42. For a detailed study of Mamnguqsualuk’s Kiviuq imagery see Charles Moore, Keeveeok, Awake! Mamnguqsualuk and the Rebirth of Legend at Baker Lake, exh. Cat., (Edmonton, AB: University of Alberta, Ring House Gallery, 1986).