Animal is a surprisingly rugged example from the hand of an artist whose work is more generally associated with crisp minimalist forms. We love the carving’s rawness and archaic sensibility. The marks of saws, rasps and files are everywhere - and like some of our favourite works by the Arviat master, the sculpture itself looks like an ancient or exotic implement. (For another fine sculpture by Miki with a very similar aesthetic see First Arts Auction, July 2020, Lot 115.) The work might depict a bird - we can’t be sure, because of course that was often Miki’s intent: to keep us guessing. We appreciate the artist’s sense of humour, but in the end we have to marvel at the strength and purity of Miki’s quirky minimalist vision.

Literature: For a similarly rugged work see First Arts Auction, July 2020, Lot 115. See George Swinton, Sculpture of the Inuit (Toronto: M&S, 1972/92), fig. 886. See the section on the artist in Norman Zepp, Pure Vision: The Keewatin Spirit (Regina: Norman Mackenzie Art Gallery, 1986), pp. 96-107.