Born in 1937, Aqjangajuk Shaa began carving as a teenager and would continue to practice through to the very end of his life. He was considered one of Cape Dorset’s master carvers, especially adept at portraying Arctic animals including caribou, bear, and walrus. Aqjangajuk would skillfully work with the natural curves of the stone to portray mostly large subjects, which he often presented as dynamic, powerfully shifting, and twisting in space. This piece, which depicts a ferocious lion, while a rare and unusual subject for the artist, still captures the dynamism and power of the animal in ways that only a master carver could.

Grand in both subject and scale, this sculpture boasts twenty-six inches in height and an enormous weight. The depiction of this “exotic” animal is an interesting phenomenon in Inuit art, but not without precedent. Various external influences might include books and magazines; MGM films occasionally shown in the community; the logo of the locally popular Buckingham Cigarettes; and Canadian government documents bearing the Royal Arms and Crest. The most direct influence might be that of Aqjangajuk’s contemporary and friendly rival Kiugak Ashoona, who carved lions at least three times in his career, sparked by a visit to the Parliament buildings in Ottawa in 1959, where he was drawn to carvings of lions and gargoyles [1].

Aqjangajuk’s Lion looks toward the sky, its mouth opens wide to let out an incredible roar. One can only imagine the powerful sound that would emerge from such a creature - admittedly, much like the MGM lion’s roar! The particular emphasis on the details of the animal’s teeth is particularly notable, and not surprising given this artist’s penchant for presenting animals with exaggerated proportions, virile postures, and heroic scale.

1. See Darlene Coward Wight, Kiugak Ashoona (Winnipeg: Winnipeg Art Gallery, 2010), pp. 84-85. Kiugak’s 1965 Growling Lion is especially relevant here.