Collections

Manasie Akpaliapik Archive

« BACK TO COLLECTION

“Sedna Rising” (2020) SOLD

Artist: Inuk Master Sculptor Manasiah Akpaliapik, (1955 – cont.) of Arctic Bay/Ikpiarjuk, Nunavut and Cobourg, Ontario, CANADA

Materials: Serpentine from Zimbabwe with inlaid eyes of North American abalone shell, base of Jade and peg of Caribou antler (species Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus)

Dimensions: 33.5″ H x 25.0″ W x 27.0″ D (Length of Sedna: 43.0”)

A solo retrospective – fifty of Manasiah Akpaliapik’s works – is ready to exhibit in Quebec City, when the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec reopens.

“Sedna Rising” is a work of that “museum” quality, in conception and in scale. She commands awe, as is appropriate for the representation of an ancient deity.

It took a forklift to load all 250 pounds into John Houston’s truck. Unpacking the crates, when the late afternoon sun brought those abalone-inlaid eyes to life, John felt Her presence.

John Houston’s second film, “Nuliajuk: Mother of the Sea Beasts,” is a quest for the great undersea Inuit deity often called Sedna. Born a human, the “Girl Who Never Wished to Marry” was married off to a dog, and later tricked into marrying a seabird. She was tried, mutilated… and transformed to a God as She descended to the sea bottom. Missionaries strove to wipe out any memory of Her, but Manasiah’s title for this masterpiece embodies his hope that Sedna may be rising again!

Watch below the 2:00 minute trailer of the film: “Nuliajuk: Mother of the Sea Beasts.”