In the early years of organized production in Canada’s North, artists were encouraged to join practicality with artistry, creating objects that could serve a purpose while also revealing a creative hand. That idea takes delightful form here in this Pair of Bookends. Each is built to stand firm and hold weight but the eye is drawn immediately to the delightful sled dogs that are applied as ornaments. The two pups, carved with care by Simon Kasudluak, seem to breathe with life. Their mouths part in open pants, tongues unfurling from their mouths as if the rhythm of a recent run still lingers. Each tail arcs in a deliberate curl around a single rear haunch, a gesture that feels at once tender and precise, capturing the warmth of familiarity as much as the truth of observation. Here, utility remains, but it hums with delight.

ND