Artist of the day: Artist of the Day, August 1, 2026 : Judas Ullulaq, a Canadian Inuk sculptor (#2594)

Saturday, August 1, 2026

Artist of the Day, August 1, 2026 : Judas Ullulaq, a Canadian Inuk sculptor (#2594)

Judas Ullulaq, ( ᔪᑕ ᐅᓗᓚ) (1937 - 1999) was a Canadian Inuk artist recognized for his sculpture works that are mainly figural and zoomorphic.

Ullulaq's medium for sculpting is stone as well as other mixed medias such as ivory, antler, bone, sinew, and musk-ox horn, which he uses to create askewd, wide-eyed, open-mouthed faces, with abstract gestures.

Judas Ullulaq was born just northeast of Taloyoak, in a small town called Thom Bay. When he was a small child Ullulaq left Thom Bay and moved to Fort Ross, where he spent the rest of his childhood and early adulthood. As a young man growing up near the northern Arctic Circle, Ullulaq would hunt caribou, muskox, seals, and polar bears.

He and his family lived at outpost camps and when he was in his early twenties, Ullulaq moved to Spense Bay. He would eventually marry and have children, five biological children and four adopted children, which prompted his move to Taloyoak in the late 1960s, so his children could attend school.

Ullulaq learned how to make dolls during his childhood, as he spent much of his time with female tribe members. When he began carving many other people were also looking to carving as a way to make money. His brothers, Charlie Ugyuk and Nelson Takkiruq, are also sculptors and Ugyuk has been credited as inspiring him to create some of the most creative and challenging sculptures to ever come out of the Arctic.

Originally at the outset, Ullulaq would carve ivory miniatures and over time his sculptures increased dramatically in size. Primarily, he sculpted in stone while using a variety of mixed-media embellishments like sinew, ivory, musk-ox horns, antlers, and bones.[1] Many of his works used dark pyroxine stones and whale bones found near Gjoa Haven. His sculptures of people, local legends, various animals, and shamanic characters were very intricately detailed. His works have been described as holding a very strong emotional and expressive presence that is shown through their exaggerated gestures and body movements, wide-eyes, and distorted, open-mouth faces.

Many of Ullulaq’s works are part of major private and public collections focusing on Inuit art worldwide.
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