Qavavau is the son of the great graphic artist Paunichea. Qavavau has long been a fixture in the Cape Dorset print studio where his is a master printer in both lithography and stonecut techniques.

Qavavau’s images are quirky, wonderful, and often humorous. This 2011 image is no exception. The composition of this etching and aquatint strikes a balance between the surreal and the meticulously composed, a harmony achieved through both its structure and its restrained palette. The central figure—a bird with wings that transform into a series of tiny bird heads—exists in a carefully rendered liminal space. This is a work of deliberate minimalism, its pale, unmarked background isolating the subject in a world that feels both stark and infinite, as though the bird exists somewhere outside the confines of time or place.