Tuna Iquliq carved this remarkable Head about a dozen years after his early astonishing examples carved in Rankin Inlet (see First Arts May 2019, Lot 4; July 2021, Lot 43), and several years after his move back to Baker Lake. One of only a handful he carved after the mid 1960s, Head confirms our opinion of Tuna as one of the most experimental of Kivalliq sculptors. Although equally “brutal” in style to the earlier works, it is in several respects quite different from them. We get the distinct impression that the artist truly enjoyed reprising ideas and trying to achieve various new visual and psychological effects.

As with his earlier examples, Head transcends the aesthetic canons of Inuit art. Indeed, it could be argued that it transcends aesthetic canons of beauty! Like the most fearless early twentieth century European artists, Tuna (quite literally!) sticks his tongue out at the viewer, daring us to accept or reject his work. As a sculpture Head is bold, brutal, uncompromising, and remarkably compelling.

References: For similarly styled and imposing heads by Iquliq see First Arts Auction, May 2019, Lot 48; and July 2021, Lot 43. See also heads or figures of similar style in George Swinton, Eskimo Sculpture, (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, Ltd., 1965), pp. 159-161; and George Swinton, Sculpture of the Inuit, (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1972/92), fig. 666, 669.