Maureen Gruben Inuvialuk, b. 1963
Mercy, 2020
Caribou antler, sinew, aluminum tape, book
17 x 8 1/2 x 11 1/2 inches
43.2 x 21.6 x 29.2 cm
43.2 x 21.6 x 29.2 cm
In Mercy, slices of caribou antler have been stitched together with sinew, binding within them a form that is quasi-corporeal, but like the quality of mercy itself, ultimately undefinable. Every slice is a distinctive shape, displaying unique rings of growth and clusters of minuscule chambers that deliver nutrients from the lichens spread across tundra under caribou hooves out to their branching antlers. The edges of these slices are wrapped in aluminium tape so that they shine. Mercy honours the sacredness of every part of the caribou, the entirety of these lives that are essential to the survival of the Inuit.
In Mercy, slices of caribou antler have been stitched together with sinew, binding within them a form that is quasi-corporeal, but like the quality of mercy itself, ultimately undefinable. Every slice is a distinctive shape, displaying unique rings of growth and clusters of minuscule chambers that deliver nutrients from the lichens spread across tundra under caribou hooves out to their branching antlers. The edges of these slices are wrapped in aluminium tape so that they shine. Mercy honours the sacredness of every part of the caribou, the entirety of these lives that are essential to the survival of the Inuit.
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