Davidialuk Alasua Amittu

Canadian, 1910–1976

Mythological Bird, 1958

stone

43.4 x 38.2 x 16.5 cm

Collection of the Winnipeg Art Gallery; Twomey Collection, with appreciation to the Province of Manitoba and Government of Canada

1953.71

Categories:

Sculpture, Inuit

Davidialuk is known as a graphic artist, printmaker, and sculptor. He was one of the great Inuit storyteller-artists, and Mythological Bird (entitled by the collector, Jerry Twomey) is one of the most impressive sculptures in the WAG’s Inuit collection. It is unusual within the artist’s oeuvre due to its large size and fascinating subject matter. The work may refer to the story of a group of women who were transformed into the Earth’s first gulls while their husbands were away hunting. The formal and symmetrical composition is monumental in its visual impact. The figure is divided vertically with a human arm, breast, and leg on its left side and the body of a bird on the right.