As much as Kenojuak Ashevak often used colour in spectacular ways, her monochrome drawings have a presence all their own. Through careful application, lines and texture help to define the subjects as well as any rainbow could. Here, a mirrored composition presents birds stacked and grasping and flowing into each other, with pairs of female figures adding to the complexity of the design and the enigmatic meaning of the image. The birds’ bodies are densely packed with tiny lines and shading, creating a subtle look of depth and shadow but with the feel of “television static.” Remarkable. A thick, black band arches over the whole composition, anchoring several birds in unusual ways and adding to the abstracted feeling of the scene. The result is a striking and mysterious drawing, made by a sure hand and a brilliant mind.

References: For an overview of Kenojuak Ashevak’s life and artistic canon, see Jean Blodgett, Kenojuak, (Toronto: Firefly Books / Mintmark Press Ltd., 1985), Anna Hudson, ‎Jocelyn Piirainen, ‎& Georgiana Uhlyarik, Tunirrusiangit: Kenojuak Ashevak and Tim Pitsiulak, exh. cat., (Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 2018), Odette Leroux ed., Inuit Women Artists, (Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre / Gatineau: Canadian Museum of Civilization, 1994), and Ansgar Walk, Kenojuak: The Story of An Inuit Artist, (Ottawa: Penumbra Press, 1999).