Welcoming Spirit Song Artist in Residence, Billy Gauthier!
We are very excited to welcome Billy Gauthier to Eastern Edge for a special residency offered in conjunction with Spirit Song Festival! Billy has kindly invited community members to stop in and say hi during regular open hours.
During his time with us, Billy will be working on a few sculptural works that are to be included in the exhibition AtaKatigejut (Intertwined), also part of Spirit Song Festival 2024. We’re so excited to see what Billy creates during his residency!
Billy Gauthier is an Inuk Artist (Nunatsiavut Beneficiary), Culturist, Activist, Environmentalist, Hunter, and Fisherman. Born in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, he now lives in North West River in Labrador and enjoys fishing and hunting on the land with his family. A self-taught artist, he began carving in 1996, with encouragement from his cousin John Terriak, a known sculptor in Labrador. In 2007, he was introduced to Spirit Wrestler Gallery in Vancouver, and given his first opportunity to exhibit on the international stage, leading to acclaim and worldwide exposure.
Since then his sculptures have been documented in numerous books and catalogues, collected by established art institutions and museums like the National Gallery of Canada. His intricate sculptures are carved in a variety of materials including serpentine, anhydrite, ivory, antler and bone. His sculptures reveal personal memories, insights on traditional life in Labrador, and narrative stories, often portraying characters which embody his fascination with human faces and expressions. Over the last 20 years, his innovative and personal style has established him as one of the definitive Inuit artists of his generation.
While at Eastern Edge, Billy finished up the sculpture below and exhibited it in our main gallery space as a part of a group exhibitions celebrating artists from Labrador. You can learn more about this exhibition HERE
AtaKatigejut (Intertwined)
“It was a pleasure to carve in such a beautiful bone, a whale scapula. The large face carved on the right represents Inuit of today, smiling and proud with a wing to show the great heights we can reach. All the faces or masks emerging from the top of the head are our Inuit ancestors who built our culture and eventually us, they deserve our respect. On the front of the forehead we have three eggs carved from caribou antler, and resting in a nest made of caribou sinew, these are the future Inuit. I chose eggs to represent our future Inuit because eggs need to be taken care of, they are fragile and need to be loved in order to ensure a healthy new generation.”
-Billy Gauthier