Davie Atchealak

Biography

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Born near Cape Dorset, Davie Atchealak would live and work primarily in Pangnirtung and Iqaluit over the course of his career. As an artist, he had a strong sense of autonomy and preferred to be on the move—it was common for him to sell his works directly to collectors rather than through the co-operative system [1].

In May 1989, Atchealak made headlines when his whalebone work Drum Dancer sold at a Waddington’s auction in Toronto for over $45,000—at the time, a record price for an Inuit carving [2]. The sculpture now lives in the National Gallery of Canada’s Inuit art collection [3].

His works are often described as being done in a mode of realism inflected by a sense of heroic masculinity—a style exemplified by his large carvings of bears and humans. If Pauta Saila’s dancing bears are iconic for their abstracted shapes and somewhat more spiritual thematic concerns, Atchealak’s bears are tougher and truer to life, energized by their striking depictions of musculature. As for his human sculptures, Atchealak’s favourite subjects were drum dancers and hunters. These figures he depicted mid-motion, arms dynamically raised and faces vigorously expressive, and according to Ingo Hessel, they illustrate a "certain macho aesthetic among male sculptors on southern Baffin Island” of which “Atchealak [was] probably its most zealous practitioner” [4].

Ultimately, Atchealak felt compelled to create work that was deeply informed by his own experiences, an outlook he explained to John Houston in an interview from 1978: “I will only make what I know and recognize. That’s all that interests me. It must make sense as I wish to fool no one. My works do not come from dreams…I consciously work on each image” [5].

This project is funded in part by the Government of Canada.
Ce projet est financé en partie par le gouvernement du Canada.

Empreints de mouvement et de vie, les ours dansants et les danseurs au tambour emblématiques de Davie Atchealak peuvent être considérés comme des expériences d’équilibre, de composition et de pondération marquées de nombreuses pauses gracieuses à mi-tour sur un seul membre. Né près de Kinngait (Cape Dorset), au Nunavut, le sculpteur a vécu et travaillé sur le même territoire, à Panniqtuq (Pangnirtung) et à Iqaluit. Ses œuvres sont décrites comme des témoignages d’un sentiment de masculinité héroïque, un style qui se dégage dans ses grandes sculptures d’ours et d’humains à la musculature prononcée. Connu pour ses représentations expressives de danseurs au tambour et d’ours dansants, l’artiste saisit ses figures au milieu de mouvements rapides ou vigoureux, comme dans Running Bear (2005). Davie Atchealak travaille principalement la pierre et l’os. Ses figures exubérantes font partie des collections du Musée des beaux-arts du Canada et du Musée des beaux-arts de Winnipeg et sont exposées en permanence à l’Aéroport international de Vancouver, entre autres.

ᐊᐅᓚᓂᖃᑦᑎᐊᖅᑐᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐃᓅᓯᖃᖅᑐᑦ, ᑏᕕ ᐊᑦᓯᐊᓚᒃ ᐊᑎᖓ ᒧᒥᖅᑐᑦ ᓇᓄᐃᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᕿᓚᐅᑎᑦ ᑕᑯᔭᐅᔪᓐᓇᖅᑐᑦ ᖃᐅᔨᓴᕈᑕᐅᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᐊᑲᐅᓈᕐᓂᖏᓐᓄᑦ, ᖃᓄᐃᓐᓂᖓᓄᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐃᓱᒪᒋᔭᐅᓲᑦ ᐊᒥᓱᑦ ᓄᖅᑲᖓᔪᑎᑐᑦ ᒧᒥᙳᐊᖅᑐᑦ ᐊᑕᐅᓯᖅ ᓂᐅᖓᒍᑦ ᓇᖏᖅᑐᓂ. ᐃᓅᔪᖅ ᑭᙵᐃᑦ ᖃᓂᐊᓂ (ᑮᑉ ᑐᐊᓯᑦ), ᓄᓇᕗᑦ, ᓴᓇᙳᐊᖅᑎ ᓄᓇᓕᒃ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐃᖅᑲᓇᐃᔭᖅᑐᓂ ᐸᖕᓂᖅᑑᖅ (ᐱᙳᑕᖕ) ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐃᖃᓗᐃᑦ, ᓄᓇᕗᒻᒥ. ᐊᑦᓯᐊᓚᒃ ᓴᓇᙳᐊᒐᖏᑦ ᐅᖃᐅᓯᕆᔭᐅᓯᒪᔪᑦ ᐃᓱᒪᒋᔭᒃᑯᑦ ᓴᙱᔪᒻᒪᕆᐊᓗᒃ ᐊᖑᑎᑐᑦ – ᓇᓗᓇᐃᔭᐅᑎᖃᖅᑐᑎᒃ ᐊᖏᔪᓂᒃ ᓴᓇᙳᐊᒐᓂᒃ ᓇᓄᕐᓂᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐃᓄᓐᓂᑦ ᓴᙱᓂᖃᖅᑐᑎᒃ ᓄᑭᖏᑦ. ᖃᐅᔨᒪᔭᐅᔪᖅ ᖃᓄᐃᓐᓂᖏᓐᓄᑦ ᑕᑯᔅᓴᐅᓂᖏᑦ ᕿᓚᐅᑎᓄᑦ ᒧᒥᖅᑐᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᓇᓄᐃᑦ ᒧᒥᖅᑐᑦ, ᐋᖅᑭᒃᓯᒪᓂᖏᑦ ᓴᓇᙳᐊᒐᖏᑦ ᑕᑯᔅᓴᐅᓂᖏᑦ ᐊᑯᓐᓂᐊᒍᑦ ᓱᒃᑲᔪᒃᑯᑦ ᐅᕝᕙᓘᓐᓃᑦ ᓴᙱᔪᑐᑦ ᐊᐅᓚᔪᑦ, ᐆᑦᑑᑎᒋᓗᒍ ᐅᓪᓚᒃᑐᖅ ᓇᓄᖅ (2005). ᓴᓇᙳᐊᖏᑦ ᐅᔭᕋᓂᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᓴᐅᓂᕐᓂᑦ, ᐊᑦᓯᐊᓚᒃ ᓴᓇᙳᐊᒐᖏᑦ ᓇᓂᔭᐅᔪᓐᓇᖅᑐᑦ ᑲᑎᖅᓱᖅᑕᐅᓯᒪᔪᓂᑦ ᑲᓇᑕᒥ ᑕᑯᒐᓐᓈᒐᖃᒃᕕᒃ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᕕᓂᐲᒃ ᓴᓇᙳᐊᒐᐃᑦ ᑕᑯᒐᓐᓈᒐᖃᕐᕕᒃ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐊᑯᓂᐅᔪᒃᑯᑦ ᑕᑯᒐᓐᓈᖅᑎᑕᐅᓯᒪᔪᖅ ᕚᓐᑯᕗ ᒥᑦᑕᕐᕕᐊᓂ ᐊᓯᖏᓪᓗ.