OTTOKIE SAMAYUALLIE

The Community of Kinngait (colonially known as Cape Dorset) boasts more famous artists per capita than any other region in Nunavut. Ottokie is the son of the talented local artists Johnny and Kuluajuke Tunnillie. It is not surprising that Ottokie
has followed the same artistic path, as in Nunavut artistic talent is passed on through the family rather than taught in an art academy. The Cape Dorset sculptural style is a combination of observational naturalism and reduction to stylistic and sometimes abstract forms. This is present in Ottokie’s carvings. Ottokie’s happy dancing bears truly stand out and are a perfect tribute to the legend of the dancing bear, a favorite old story orally passed down generation to generation, which states that the polar bear, the great king of the arctic is so loved and respected that the highest hope and honour is to reincarnate into the bear for the next life. And so, when a human spirit finally does, he is filled with such immense
joy, that he can’t help but dance, and dance… Ottokie takes great care in choosing the stone. His carvings are made of the
finest serpentine of varying green shades, and then smoothed and polished to best exhibit the luster of the stone. Serpentine is a rock with composition similar to Jade that is found on Baffin Island. It is a very hard stone, so it requires more artistic virtuosity to carve than the softer soapstone.