Height 45.1 cm x Width 55.9 cm, Distance between hanging hooks: 80cm
A stone cut print depicting a representation of Inuit figures, birds, and other animals, all in silhouette. Ranging across the picture plane are several bird figures, mostly with wings outstretched and facing in both directions. Three human figures in Inuit dress are situated at bottom centre, upper left and upper right. Three dog-like figures are located beside and below the upper two Inuit figures. There is a diving spirit figure to the left of the bottom Inuit figure. All the figures are represented in black on a pale blue blocked ground.
Kenojuak Ashevak (1927-2013) is one of Canada’s most acclaimed Inuit graphic artists. She received honorary degrees from Queen’s University and the University of Toronto and was also a Companion in the Order of Canada. When compared to Kenojuak’s later pieces, Complex of Birds, 1960 represents a period where she appears to be seeking her artistic voice. The coloured black on blue background is typical of Kinngait (Cape Dorset) artists’ work in the 1950s.
