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Artworks
THOMAS SUVAARAQ (1935-1991) QAMANI'TUAQ (BAKER LAKE)
Shaman Dancing, c. mid-late 1970santler, and fur, 11 x 7 x 5 in (27.9 x 17.8 x 12.7 cm)
unsigned6$ 1,500.00Further images
The sculpture of Thomas Suvaaraq is not as well-known as it should be. His reputation probably suffered because of the superficial resemblance of his shaman figures to those of Luke...The sculpture of Thomas Suvaaraq is not as well-known as it should be. His reputation probably suffered because of the superficial resemblance of his shaman figures to those of Luke Iksiktaaryuk, but also because he was often confused with the more famous stone sculptor Thomas Sivuraq (the brother of Peter Sevoga) (see also no. 11 in this exhibition).
Comparison with the work of Iksiktaaryuk is certainly understandable. Suvaaraq, however, carved single figures of shamans almost exclusively, while Iksiktaaryuk’s themes were more varied. The works are easy to distinguish, however, because Suvaaraq almost always adorned his figures with fur, to illustrate hair, collar and sleeve ruffs, and amulet belts. This fine example is very similar to his Shaman of 1974, formerly in the Zazelenchuk Collection and exhibited in Jean Blodgett’s The Coming and Going of the Shaman exhibition at the Winnipeg Art Gallery in 1978 as well as in the WAG’s Zazelenchuk Collection show there the same year.
Suvaaraq also occasionally carved stone. A fine muskox by him is illustrated in the Sanavik Co-op’s catalogue, Baker Lake: Sculpture 1974. He was also a talented printmaker; he masterfully cut the stone block for Ruth Qaulluaryuk’s famous 1975 print, Hundreds and Hundreds, Herds of Caribou.
Provenance
Galerie Elca London, Knowlton, QC.
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