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Qiatsuq, Palaya

Qiatsuq, Palaya

Qikiqtaaluk

(b. 1965)

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Qiatsuq, Palaya

(b. 1965)

Palaya Qiatsuk (b. 1965) is the son of well-known Kinngait carver Lukta Qiatsuk. At the age of 12, he learned to carve from his father and other Kinngait artists. His father’s influence is evident in his numerous sculptures of owls. Qiatsuk’s work has also featured images of traditional stories, shamanism, and transformation, a subject for whom he credits his artistic grandfather, Kiakshuk, as inspiration. A skilled sculptor in both stone and bone, his sculptures are recognizable for their expressive faces—often with wide eyes—and forms full of movement and life. Qiatsuk served as the mayor of Kinngait from 2013 to 2017 and was instrumental in building the new Kenojuak Cultural Centre and Print Shop, which opened in 2018. Since retiring as mayor, Qiatsuk has continued to make highly polished sculptures, exhibiting regularly in Canada as well as internationally since 1986.

Qiatsuq, Palaya

Legend of the Northern Lights

2003
stone
20.1 x 40.5 x 15.4 cm

Collection of the Winnipeg Art Gallery, Acquired with funds from the Winnipeg Rh Foundation Inc.
2004-70

  • Legend of the Northern Lights

    About

    Legend of the Northern Lights

    Legend of the Northern Lights

    In a traditional story of the Northern Lights, three young men went visiting after dark. They suddenly heard the noise of the northern lights and the wind that accompanies them. They were afraid and entered an iglu. “Don’t whistle, or you will lose your head,” one said to the other, but he paid no attention and began to whistle. The lights got closer and closer, cut the whistler’s head off and used it as a football. In this work, a woman sits whistling while one horrified man is having his head cut off.


  • Northern Lights

    Video Story

    Northern Lights

    Northern Lights


  • Legend of the Northern Lights

    Additional View

    Legend of the Northern Lights

    Legend of the Northern Lights