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Artworks
JOHNNY KASUDLUAK (1935-) KUUJJUARAAPIK (GREAT WHALE RIVER)
Head of a Bird / Bird and Hatchling, 1958stone, 5 x 3.25 x 2.25 in (12.7 x 8.3 x 5.7 cm)
inscribed with artist's disc number, "E9_1669";
with affixed label from La Guilde (The Canadian Handicrafts Guild), in blue ink, "H58 / Kasudluak / WW / 2.50".
LOT 52
ESTIMATE: $300 — $500
PRICE REALIZED: $122.00
25 September 2025Further images
This work operates almost like an optical illusion, inviting the viewer to shift between two equally convincing readings. At first glance the form appears as the head of a single...This work operates almost like an optical illusion, inviting the viewer to shift between two equally convincing readings. At first glance the form appears as the head of a single bird, its beak wide open in a resonant caw. But with a change in focus the same beak transforms into two figures: the upper edge resolves into a larger bird, while the lower edge becomes a hatchling beneath it. The ability of the sculpture to hold both images at once speaks to the inventiveness and playfulness of early artists, who found ways to capture not only the likeness of animals but also the ambiguity and surprise of perception itself.
Provenance
Ex. Coll. Colin John Grasset Molson (C.J.G ), Montreal.
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