Lot 18
JOHNNIEBO ASHEVAK (1923-1972) KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)
Printmaker: EEGYVUDLUK POOTOOGOOK (1931-1999) KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)
Taleelayo with Sea Bird, 1965
stonecut, 25 x 17 in (63.5 x 43.2 cm)
15/50
ESTIMATE: $600 — $900
PRICE REALIZED: $1,680
One version of the Sedna (Taleelayo, Nuliajuk) story tells that the sea goddess’s second husband was a northern fulmar. Like the Raven, the fulmar is considered to be somewhat ominous. The story tells that Sedna met and wed a fulmar disguised as a handsome man. When the man transformed back to a fulmar, his new bride was repulsed by stout legs and lidless eyes Johnniebo’s depiction of Taleelayo and Sea Bird may be interpreted as Sedna and her fulmar husband [1].
Taleelayo and Sea Bird was reproduced in Patrick Furneaux, Arts of the Eskimo: Prints, [Montreal: Signum Press, 1974], p. 96
1. Karen Williamson, Tingmiyok: In Flight, exh., Kleinberg, ON: McMichael Canadian Art Collection, 2002.