Looming Bear

2021 CAPE DORSET Annual Print Collection

Nuna Parr (b. 1964)

Nuna Parr was born near Cape Dorset and lived with his adoptive parents, the graphic artists Parr and Eleeshushe. The family moved to Cape Dorset in 1960, after Parr was injured in an accident, and the young Nuna started carving carving in 1957, when he was eight years old. Today, Nuna’s daughter Mary also carves, and his advice to young carvers who say they cannot carve is “You have to keep trying and you will learn.”

His interest in hunting and his regard for the animal life of the Arctic are directly reflected in his work. His rounded forms have great movement and a natural flow with the grain of the stone, as if both were made for each other. He has been carving for forty years, and his work continues to be shown nationally and internationally.