About
Nuliajuk’s Bird Husband
Nuliajuk’s Bird Husband
The artist has described the subject of his carving: ‘This is from a story [about Nuliajuk] told by my grandfather [Joata Suqslak]. A young woman would not marry, but one day a handsome man appeared, and she finally said “yes.” He took her off to an island, where he began to mistreat her. She found out that he was a bird, a fulmar, or bird of the storm.’ Unexpectedly, Joseph Suqslak has chosen to depict not the sea spirit but her husband instead. He is shown in a state of transformation, between his human form and his true bird self.
