That Kenojuak Ashevak often created monochrome drawings should not be surprising since it has always been line, and not colour, that has defined her drawn images. Bird with Bird Spirits exemplifies her later drawing style. The subject matter of birds remains the same, but this composition seems both more complex and more abstracted. The bird spirits’ bodies are energized with densely packed black lines that take the place of her more “typical” kelp-like feather-fronds. It is as if the spirits are emitting electrical charges. Only the bird at the top sports more naturalistic feathers on wing and tail, although it appears to be transforming as well. Kenojuak’s continuing sureness of hand is truly remarkable.

References: For contemporaneous Kenojuak prints with similarly densely packed “lines of energy” see Summer Char, (Cape Dorset 2003, cat. 9; Quivering Seagull, and Mirrored Image, (Cape Dorset 2004, cats. 12 and 13; and Darting Raven, (Cape Dorset 2005, cat. 15).