(1927-2006)
Located in hallway CL 101 (Classroom Building, 1st floor)
Reproduced with the permission of Dorset Fine Arts. Photograph by the University of Regina.
Legendary Figure of Taliilajuuq, c.1971
Serpentine
University of Regina President’s Art Collection; pc.1971.1
I have seen younger people carving (not only my own kids) who try to do a good job because they know it is important…. Back when we first started carving the carvings weren’t polished and [they] looked like unfinished art.
Inuk artist Paulassie Pootoogook was born in 1927 in Igalalik (Andrew Gordon Bay), Baffin Island, Nunavut. His father, Pootoogook, was a community leader and was instrumental in the formation of the village of Kinngait (Cape Dorset).
Eldest of four brothers, Pootoogook began his artistic career as a printmaker but is better known for his carving. Pootoogook often carved non-traditional subject matter, but is well known for his naturalistic polar bears. Pootoogook is what some would consider a second generation Inuit artist. Artists of this generation have shown a greater variety of artistic expression than their predecessors. A delicate mastery of the medium is visible with smooth undulating detail often polished to a high gloss.
Taliilajuuq, also known as Sedna (among other local names), is the sea goddess associated with the legend of the creation of sea creatures. It is said that she was cast into the ocean by her father. Taliilajuuq is believed to rule over all life in the sea and has influence over the outcome of hunting. Her hair is the most notable physical attribute and is used to show her emotional state. If her hair is smooth or braided, Taliilajuuq is content, while if her hair is disheveled, she is enraged.