Isaci Etidloi

(1972 - )

Date of Birth : 15 November 1972

Place of Birth: Iqaluit (Frobisher Bay)

Residence: Cape Dorset

Family: Son of renowned carver Etulu Etidloi.

Style Description: Family resemblance to the work of his aunt Omalluk Oshutsiaq and his father Etulu. Decorative elements consist of texture, polished and matte areas. Figures are strong and substantial, as opposed to delicate and finely executed.

Artist Development: At the age of 7 Isaci disobeyed his father’s words, “Don’t touch my tools!” He views himself as having been a rebel; however, he philosophically says that having disobeyed his father got him where he is today artistically. He started off by using hand tools, but in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, he added power tools to the selections of hack saw, chisels, and files he was already using. Isaci used to watch his father carved and be paid for his labour after a few hours, where as his mother way paid every two weeks.  The idea of being paid in two hours rather than two weeks appealed to him enormously and perhaps influenced his decision to drop out of school.

            Isaci prides himself on doing work differently from others. He credits Jimmy Manning for having encouraged him to make different work. Jimmy told him, “If you are going to keep doing this and not go back to school than you have to try to do different things.”

            Isaci prefers to work on larger pieces because he finds details such as muscles and veins easier when he is working on a larger scale. He likes to challenge himself in whatever work he does. He enjoys doing something different that will “catch the eye of the beholder.” He does not carve polar bears or walruses, as he considers them “too simple.” He prefes the more difficult work of creating complex pieces with different materials. Using antler, ivory and stone to sculpt a transformation piece of an animal turning into a human, which he considers the most challenging of all work.

            He has exhibited in Canada the United States and Belgium. His work has captured the attention of Christine Lalonde at the National Gallery. Recently his work was part of an exhibition entitled Inuit Sculpture Now 2007 at the National Gallery.

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