Lacking ready supplies of driftwood that were more commonly found in other parts of the Canadian Arctic, Netsilik Inuit had always made great use of whale bone and caribou antler. It is no surprise, then, that they happily took to carving the whale bone supplied to them in the late 1960s when sculpture production ramped up in Taloyoak. Karoo Ashevak had a special affinity for the material and loved its varied textures and shapes. Karoo did not merely “follow” the shapes of whale bone, however; he had very clear ideas about the sculptures he wished to create and spent considerable time hunting down suitable pieces for each work. Arguably, this is one of the reasons his works stand out as being especially unique and imaginative. Other reasons include his use of dreams rather than animals or narratives as inspiration, his incredibly high standards of workmanship, his love of mixing materials, and his interest in constructing complex, multi-part sculptures.

Although Karoo’s sculptures are wide-ranging in their appearance for the reasons stated above, his favourite subjects were relatively few: humans (including shaman figures); human-like spirit beings; and birds. He carved relatively few other animals. Birds were seldom far from Karoo’s thoughts: figures of birds and spirit birds; birds at their nests or with eggs; humans and spirits that flew or hovered like birds; shamans with bird helping spirits; and spirits with eggs in their mouths.

Bird Protecting its Egg is a marvelous example from 1972. Chosen as one of fifteen works exhibited in the landmark 1972/3 solo exhibition Karoo Ashevak: Spirits in New York City, it was given the generic title Spirit, as were all the others in the show (Karoo rarely titled his works). Balanced at the edge of its nest, the bird watches over a single enormous egg, screeching a warning at any who might come near. It is carved from a beautifully expressive piece of bone. Karoo has carefully honed the surface of its denser side while leaving the more porous flip side in a more natural state. The grooves of wings and talons balance each other effectively, as do the well-defined negative shapes of beak and between the legs (these also contrast with yet balance the strongly positive shape of the egg). We love how the bird’s tongue pierces the void of the gaping beak, reminding us of sculptures by Henry Moore! Fabulous.

References: Jean Blodgett's landmark retrospective show and catalogue Karoo Ashevak, (Winnipeg: Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1977) illustrates ten sculptures from 1972 (cats. 18-27); several of these, as well as works from other years, depict birds and bird spirits. See also American Indian Arts Center, Karoo Ashevak: Spirits, (New York: American Indian Arts Center, 1973) for many fine examples. For other fine works by Karoo see Gerald McMaster, ed., Inuit Modern: The Samuel and Esther Sarick Collection, (Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 2010), pp. 118-119; Ingo Hessel, Inuit Art: An Introduction, (Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre / New York: Harry Abrams / London: British Museum Press, 1998), figs. 89-90, pp. 111-112; First Arts Auction, 12 July 2020, Lot 40; First Arts, 30 November 2021, Lot 58, First Arts, 5 December 2022, Lot 81. For another fine depiction of a Karoo Ashevak Bird see Maria von Finckenstein ed., Celebrating Inuit Art 1948-1970, (Hull, QC: Canadian Museum of Civilization, 1999), p. 183.