Karoo Ashevak carved petrifying childhood stories into these humorous sculptures

In our series Scenes from an Exhibition, Canada's top curators showcase some of their favourite works from exhibitions that were closed off to the public due to COVID-19.

Karoo Ashevak was a sculptor based in Taloyoak, Nunavut whose career was on the rise when he tragically died in a house fire along with his wife and children in 1974. Despite his short career, he left a considerable legacy. "He is loved across the world and really deeply in his own community," says Wanda Nanibush, Curator of Indigenous Art at the Art Gallery of Ontario. "He's influenced quite a huge generation of artists." 

The Karoo Ashevak exhibit, curated by Nanibush, is currently on display at the AGO in Toronto. Or it would be if the gallery's doors hadn't closed on March due to COVID-19. And since we're not able to see it in person, we asked Nanibush to bring us inside the exhibit, virtually, in the latest video in our series Scenes from an Exhibition. 

Nanibush says Ashevak's work was inspired by working with a shaman in his community and stories he heard as a child. "His sister said that when he was younger, they used to be told stories around the fire or at bedtime and he used to be petrified of the monsters and the creatures in these stories. And then as he got older and he started carving, it's like these stories kind of shifted in his mind and they became much more loving and funny to him."

To create these sculptures, Ashevak worked with whalebone as a material, which is "quite fragile and very sensitive," says Nanibush. "He didn't force it to do what he wanted it to do — he kind of made his ideas work with the material with every shape and form." The result is a body of work rooted in humour and imagination. 

Ashevak's sculpture "Mother and Child with Pulled Tooth" is the perfect representation of the humour in his work. The sculpture shows a mother who has just pulled out her child's tooth and is "screaming in pain with his head thrown back. His face is quite grotesque looking. And this is kind of an everyday occurrence in community. I think these are experiences many of us can relate to."

And even though these sculptures were born out of frightening childhood stories, "the idea that the spiritual world is a scary one or one you might want to stay away from isn't present in his work," adds Nanibush. "He makes it so inviting and it's something you want to stay with."

CBC Arts understands that this is an incredibly difficult time for artists and arts organizations across this country. We will do our best to provide valuable information, share inspiring stories of communities rising up and make us all feel as (virtually) connected as possible as we get through this together. If there's something you think we should be talking about, let us know by emailing us at cbcarts@cbc.ca. See more of our COVID-related coverage here.