The older brother of Judas Ullulaq (see Lots 32 and 97), Charlie Ugyuk remained in Taloyoak when Ullulaq and their brother, Nelson Takkiruq, moved to Gjoa Haven in the early 1980s. Ugyuk wrestled with the personal demons of alcohol and violence for many years, and clearly had issues with Christianity; shamanic and demonic imagery dominated his art for at least the last dozen years of his life. Kneeling Female Demon blends human and satanic features, while lacking animal attributes seen in some similar examples; Darlene Wight is right to refer to these works as Ugyuk’s “fire-and-brimstone” imagery [1].

This sculpture is perhaps not for the faint of heart, but it’s a tremendously powerful work of art. The female demon kneels and holds her hands behind her back as if in bondage, yet the artist has carved no restraints. The figure’s visage truly is devilish, and it takes little imagination to hear her angry, defiant roar. Sculpturally speaking, perhaps the most remarkable aspect of this work is Ugyuk’s use of texture. The various textures look and feel like acts of violence. The demon’s pitted brows, mustache, and beard, and even her nipples look as if they have been attacked with a sharp pick; her hair looks mauled by animal paws; and the sculpture’s base appears to have been shredded by talons. Extraordinary.

1. Wight, Art & Expression of the Netsilik, 2000, p. 104.

References: For similarly themed or styled works by the artist see Ingo Hessel, Inuit Art: An Introduction, (Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre / New York: Harry Abrams / London: British Museum Press, 1998), pl. 100, p. 122; and Ingo Hessel, Arctic Spirit: Inuit Art from the Albrecht Collection at the Heard Museum, (Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre / Phoenix: Heard Museum, 2006), cat. 173, pp. 212-213. For a discussion of the artist and his work as well as numerous illustrated examples see Darlene Coward Wight, Art & Expression of the Netsilik, (Winnipeg: Winnipeg Art Gallery, 2000), pp. 104-113; for the most similar works in this catalogue see cats. 113 and 115. For a fine depiction of Wrestling Demons see First Arts, July 13, 2021, Lot 44. For an impressive work from the mid 1980s see the cover of the Inuit Art Quarterly, Spring 1993 (Vol. 8, No. 1). For a kneeling Bear-Shaman from c. 1990 see Walker’s Auctions, 25 May 2016, Lot 127.