Arching Narwhale, 1979
by by Nalenik Temela (1939-2003)
Kimmirut (Lake Harbour), Nunavut, Canada
soapstone, bone
13” high x 21” long x 7” deep
Nalenik Temela was born on the land near Kimmirut (Lake Harbour), Nunavut, Canada in 1939. He began carving in the mid 1950s at the age of fifteen, and likely created small ivories for the first few years. By the late 1960s he was carving larger stone sculptures, mostly depictions of bears and other wildlife. Nalenik and his family moved into Kimmirut only in the late 1970s, preferring life on the land until that time. His attitude to carving was decidedly old school as well; he preferred using simple home-made carving tools. His dedication to his art is summed up nicely here: “I admire and like to watch other carvers working. They inspire me to work just as hard as they are, which helps me to keep doing my best, especially during long, hard, cold winters when I have to work outside.”
Nalenik is best known and celebrated for his monumental depictions of bears that he began carving in the late 1980s, three of which were exhibited in the international Masters of the Arctic exhibition of 1989. These works are truly distinctive for their textural effects. The bears’ matte, delicately textured torsos and limbs contrast strongly with their highly polished heads and paws; it’s a clever invention that makes Nalenik’s bears really stand out. Nalenik presented his bears in various poses, but it was his choice of the “dancing bear” pose that inevitably led to comparisons with the renowned Cape Dorset sculptor Pauta Saila.
-From an artist interview with Rob Jaffray in Kyra Vladykov Fisher, Guide to Kimmirut Artists: 2005-2006 p. 111.
