The following narrative was written on a small piece of paper by the artist and placed inside the carving’s pail: ‘A man ate some walrus meat and after he ate it, his head became a walrus head. From then on, he had to eat like a walrus and dive under water to get his food. Because has was not a real walrus, he was slower and got to the bottom after all the other walruses had eaten. He complained about this and was told to kick from the sky and dive so he’ll go faster. That helped him swim faster and allowed him to reach the bottom with the others.’

In 2006, a major collection of 246 sculptures was donated to the Gallery by Vancouver collector Dr. Harry Winrob. Originally from Winnipeg, Winrob had made occasional purchases of Inuit carvings beginning in 1968. He became interested in seriously collecting Inuit sculpture in 1971, and soon focused on acquiring works made of organic materials from game animals (whalebone, walrus ivory, and caribou antler). Fifty-four sculptures in Winrob’s collection are created from organic materials, and thirty-six of these are of whale bone. Winrob once gave his background as a physician as the reason for his interest in these materials. However, much of his interest was also aesthetic. He was particularly interested in the flamboyant sculpture by Nattilingmiut (Netsilik) artists from Taloyoak, Gjoa Haven, and Kugaaruk. Sculpture with shamanic content fascinated him, particularly animal/human transformations. He explained that it was not the “classic” but the atypical, even the bizarre that held a strong attraction for him. In March 2008, Harry Winrob’s collection was the subject of a major WAG exhibition and catalogue.