Kenojuak Ashevak

Sea Goddess (Taluliyuk) with Birds and Animals
Now On View

Maker

Kenojuak Ashevak (Inuk, 1927–2013, b. in Ikirasaq, Nunavut, Canada)

Culture

Inuit

Title

Sea Goddess (Taluliyuk) with Birds and Animals

Year

1962

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

pencil

Supports

Dimensions

48.1 x 63.2 cm (18 15/16 x 24 7/8 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Inscribed in pencil in LR:Kenojuak 1962

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James A. Houston

Object Number

78.190.1

Type

Exhibition History

Art and Design from 1900 to Now
Jun 04, 2022 – Apr 11, 2027

Label copy

In the drawing above, Kenojuak Ashevak portrays the sea goddess Taluliyuk (also called Sedna) in her fish form, interconnected with birds, mammals, and fish. Ashevak carved stone, and she made many drawings that were turned into prints. She explained her process:

I just take these things out of my thoughts and out of my imagination and I don’t really give any weight to the idea of its being an image of something. In other words, I am not trying to show what anything looks like in the material world. I am just concentrating on placing it down on paper in a way that is pleasing to my own eye whether it has anything to do with subjective reality or not. . . . That is just my style and that is the way I started and that is the way I am today.

Image use

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In copyright This object is in copyright

Tombstone

Kenojuak Ashevak (Inuk, 1927–2013, b. in Ikirasaq, Nunavut, Canada)
Sea Goddess (Taluliyuk) with Birds and Animals, 1962
Graphite on paper
48.1 x 63.2 cm (18 15/16 x 24 7/8 inches)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James A. Houston 78.190.1

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