Toonoo Sharky began carving at the ripe old age of nine or ten, first watching carefully as his grandfather Quppapik Ragee carved and then making his own works. By the age of sixteen he was supporting himself and he has never looked back. With his superlative craftsmanship and daring bravado, Toonoo is considered by many to be his generation’s answer to Osuitok Ipeelee. His marvelous depictions of birds of prey certainly rival the animal sculptures of the great master (see First Arts, 5 December 2022, Lot 28 and back cover).

While Toonoo is most famous for his bird sculptures, he has also produced a fair number of works that explore supernatural themes. Dancing Bird Shaman is the most overtly shamanic work by the artist that we can recall. This sculpture is certainly notable for its impressive size and flamboyant style, but especially for its markedly muscular depiction of a shamanic transformation. Although an atypical work both for the artist and the community, this sculpture comfortably holds its own alongside many of the finest supernatural pieces hailing from the Kitikmeot region, both in terms of quality of execution and visual impact.

References: For a smaller, less complex version of this theme, dated 2005, see Walker’s Auctions, 22 Nov. 2017, Lot 211. For more information about the artist, see the article by Jessica Tomic-Bagshaw, “Contemporary Artist: Toonoo Sharky” in Inuit Art Quarterly, Vol. 16, No. 3, Fall 2001, pp. 4-6, and a brief overview in Ingo Hessel, Arctic Spirit: Inuit Art from the Albrecht Collection at the Heard Museum, (Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre / Phoenix: Heard Museum, 2006), p. 82. Other, more realistic birds by Sharky can be found in Derek Norton and Nigel Reading, Cape Dorset Sculpture, (Vancouver: Douglas and McIntrye, 2005), p. 76, and see also First Arts, Toronto, 5 December 2022, Lot 28, and Lot 135 of this sale.