Family is a dominant theme in Ekidlua Teevee's carving practice, and as the son of celebrated printmaker Ningeokuluk Teevee and musician Simeonie Teevee, and grandson of printmaker Jamasee Teevee, it's easy to understand how that came to be. Teevee learned to carve as a teenager under the tutelage of Napachie Ashoona, and enjoys carving alongside his mother while she draws, soaking in inspiration from watching her at work.
Alongside the aesthetic considerations he absorbs from his talented family, Ekidlua Teevee draws inspiration from his observations of animals while hunting and fishing on the land. Some of his most frequent subjects are polar bears, birds and seals depicted in action, and he is a thoughtful sculptor of dogs both wild and domesticated. Take Playful Dog, for example, which demonstrates the high sheen he achieves through his hand tools, and is an unusually intimate look at dogs in the arctic, who are more traditionally depicted at work than at play.
Teevee also tackles more unusual concepts in his practice: he has made pieces to commemorate the northern dog slaughter and completed a large whalebone and stone piece about man’s best friend being fed his last meal.