Nasogaluak’s admiration for the European Old Masters comes through in his graceful sculptural depictions of busts, faces, and the female figure. Carved in the round, this work’s sinuous curves and naturalistic faces recall Michelangelo. A completely different piece depending on which angle one views it from, Crying Shaman Transformation is an exquisite example of the “classical” European sculptural style hybridized with iconography from Inuit stories and myths.

This stunning sculpture is defined by two human faces, one on either side. The man with his eyes closed but facing the sky is likely the shaman; the female face on the opposite side bears a likeness to Sedna. Her long hair gracefully twists and winds across the sculpture – not unlike Michelangelo’s treatment of drapery – transforming gracefully into the waves of the sea where a bear and whales swim within her locks. A falcon and loon flank the sides separating the two faces. Uniquely, the sculpture includes a speckled appliqué design of green glass inlay. After a workshop which introduced the artist to the use of glass in three-dimensional design, Nasogaluak was known to integrate coloured glass into his sculptures. For a greater “otherworldly” effect, he added glass to some works related to shamanism and myths.

References: For an interview with the artist see Michael Olson, “Focus On: Bill Nasogaluak, Masterful Apprentice” in Inuit Art Quarterly, (Vol. 17, No. 1, Spring 2002), pp. 30-35. For more recent work by the artist, see Bill Naogaluak: Shapeshifter, Feheley Fine Arts, Toronto, Ontario, January 2020.