Priscilla Boulay

Born into a family of multi-generational carvers in Tuktuuyaqtuuq (Tuktoyaktuk), Inuvialuit Settlement Region, NT, Priscilla Boulay is a sculptor who works with stone, ivory, antler and horn, which she uses to depict Inuvialuit traditions and activities out on the land. She has garnered a social media following by posting behind-the-scenes insights into her artistic process, allowing art enthusiasts to view her works in progress.

Boulay was surrounded by carving from a young age: she is the granddaughter of renowned sculptor Bobby Taylor Pokiak, who passed his skills to his children, including Maryanne Taylor-Reid, Boulay’s mother. At age three, Boulay was handed her first piece of soapstone by her uncle Derrald Taylor, and began her instruction in the Taylor carving tradition by polishing it. She has been pursuing sculpture full-time since moving to Alberta in 2010.

“Living life right on the Coast of the Arctic Ocean has brought many lessons that enriched [our] traditions,” says Boulay. [1] Her sculptures depict her own experiences of Inuvialuit traditions and beliefs such as hunting, fishing, travelling and watching wildlife in the Arctic. Boulay initially became known for her fantastical hunting scenes and beluga whale imagery, often created by combining multiple different mediums like bone, stone, hide, horn and antler into single composite works.

Struggling to access some of the materials that her family has traditionally worked with, Boulay has recently begun taking the smaller materials left over from working with ivory, antlers and muskox horn and reworking them into jewellery. “It’s a learning curve to live an urban Inuvialuk life and keep traditions going,” she says about the switch. She is also working with her own young daughters to pass the culture and carving legacy of her family down to them.