March 1 - 23

Samonie Toonoo who, sadly, passed away in December 2017, was one of Cape Dorset's most unique carvers. Younger brother of Jutai Toonoo and Oviloo Tunnillie, the three artists moved away from carving depictions of traditional activities and arctic animals and followed their own inner voices. Samonie's work is often figurative and does not shy away from difficult subjects. His work is hauntingly beautiful, and often deals with spirits - such as his Hand with Face, a serpentine hand inlaid with a caribou bone face, or his lovely but macabre Skull, with its gaping eyes and heart-shaped nose - and shamanic transformations, like the lovely Standing Caribou or his Wolf Spirit, which features a standing figure carved from serpentine, with small wolf ears protruding from his hair and an inlaid face carved from a lighter green stone. The exhibition title piece, Praying for Happiness, is a dark coloured figure with a taut body, hands clenched at its side, yearning upwards towards the sky. This piece is especially poignant in light of Samonie's recent death, following on that of his brother, Jutai in December 2017 and his sister, Oviloo in 2014.

All works are available immediately.