StylusThis owl sculpture has been giving me feels since I saw it & read its description [transcription errors mine]
It's on exhibit in the HearD Museum in Phoenix.
Owl
Wilson Okoomealingok (Siberian Yupik)
Walrus Ivory with baleen inlays
Private collection
These small figures share a posture referred to as kingyaq in Yup'ik that Chuna McIntire has described: "Kingyaq is to look back, like when the sun sets…Brother Sun looks back to remind us he will return in the morning. It is like the parents looking back at the children to check on them, walking behind." Kingyaq is a gesture of concern and reassurance, that we are safe within our place in the world, and in the family.
