Ullulaq’s zest for life, his sense of humour, and his inventiveness shine through in his art and never fail to delight and impress us. Hunter Chasing a Caribou is one of the most charming examples of his hunting scenes – not to mention one of the largest. Carved from a single chunk of stone, the sculpture is massive yet interestingly balanced, with hunter and caribou cantilevered out to either side, giving the work lots of open space and a pleasing outline. It reminds us of his Murder Scene of 1988, which is similarly balanced, on a smaller base. [1]

The sculpture has a great sense of movement as well; we feel the tension of the chase in the extended limbs of both figures. In reality, the two are probably farther apart than shown, but their proximity adds to our suspense. The hunter is certainly excited, and perhaps exhausted as well, as he races after his prey. For its part, the caribou is apparently nimbler than it looks and might be about to leap into the water to make its escape. Deciding who to root for is a tough choice for viewers of scenes like this by Ullulaq. He has a knack for investing both his human and animal subjects with real personality.

1. Illustrated in Darlene Coward Wight, Art & Expression of the Netsilik, (Winnipeg Art Gallery, 2000), cat. 155, p. 159.