Jessie Oonark made her very first drawing in 1958 or 1959 after seeing the drawings of school children in Baker Lake (see First Arts, Toronto, 1 December 2020, Lot 52); soon after she was encouraged by Dr. Andrew Macpherson, a visiting biologist with the Canadian Wildlife Service. She made mostly clothing and works on cloth in the early-mid 1960s, then took up drawing again until around 1967. Her artistic career took off in 1969 after the arrival of arts advisors Jack and Sheila Butler, and she created numerous drawings and works on cloth for another ten years.

This classic Oonark drawing was created during the artist’s most productive period in the mid 1970s. Its composition is almost architectural; Oonark had been designing quite symmetrical and “tiered” compositions since about 1973, in particular numerous large works on cloth, including some with domed, igloo-like formats (see First Arts, Toronto, 1 December 2020, Lot 39). A lovely later drawing, dating from c. 1978, has more softly curving tiers with faces, suggesting the shapes of shoulders or even hairsticks (see First Arts, Toronto, 12 July 2020, Lot 43). In the present drawing, the five elegant arcs framing four tiers of human and spirit figures are suggestive of ulu blades. As with the other examples, there is symbolism inherent not only in the figures but in the curved shapes as well. Many of the graceful figures seem to be flying or floating or swimming, particularly those that seem also to be transforming into hares, birds, and fish. The fact that Oonark was a devout Christian did not prevent her from depicting scenes of traditional spirituality or even shamanism. This beautiful composition exudes a wonderful feeling of calm and grace.

References: For stunning drawings by Oonark, several of which have related imagery and composition, see Jean Blodgett and Marie Bouchard, Jessie Oonark: A Retrospective, (Winnipeg: Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1986) - for instance cat. 70. See also Marion E. Jackson and Judith M. Nasby, Contemporary Inuit Drawings, (Guelph: Macdonald Stewart Art Centre, 1987), cat. 61; Ingo Hessel, Arctic Spirit: Inuit Art from the Albrecht Collection at the Heard Museum, (Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre / Phoenix: Heard Museum, 2006), cat. 49; Ingo Hessel, Inuit Art: An Introduction, (Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre / New York: Harry Abrams / London: British Museum Press, 1998), fig. 131; Gerald McMaster, ed., Inuit Modern: The Samuel and Esther Sarick Collection, (Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 2010), pp. 100-101, 162-163; as well as later Oonark prints from 1978-82.