Kiakshuk established his artistic reputation through a sensitive rendering of daily life, his works carrying with them a depth of observation and memory. This sentiment finds expression in this sculpture with particular clarity. Carved from the deep mottled green stone favoured by Kinngait artists of the early 1960s, Kneeling Woman with Quilliq (Kudlik) captures a fleeting moment and anchors it in permanence. Here, the woman settles low to the ground, her compact body carrying a sense of weight and balance. She holds a quilliq (oil lamp) in two mittened hands and seemingly presents it outward, as if the viewer is invited to consider the eventual warmth and light the lamp will provide.

Every aspect of the work reveals Kiakshuk’s commitment to describing this figure. The woman’s hair is parted at the centre and drawn back into a neat bun positioned at the rear centre of her head. Her face appears youthful and alert. Her mouth slightly parted as if releasing a soft breath while she settles into position. At the back, the pointed tip of her amautiq hood descends into the centre of her spine, aligning neatly with her bun and the division at her waist.

ND

References: or a brief overview of the artist, see Jean Blodgett, Grasp Tight the Old Ways: Selections from the Klamer Family Collection of Inuit Art, (Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 1983), pp. 98-101. For a Standing Man of a similar vintage, see: Virginia Watt et al., Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec: The Permanent Collection: Inuit Arts and Crafts c. 1900-1980, (Montreal: Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec, 1980), cat. 255, p. 172.