Standing Inuk

Harold Pfeiffer made his first trip north in 1954 on the patrol ship, C.D. Howe, as an x-ray assistant, liaison officer, and sculptor. This trip marked first of several tours to the north that would serve Pfeiffer in his art. Pfeiffer sought to capture some essence of the respect and delight he had for the northern peoples of Canada, Alaska, Greenland, and Siberia. His efforts toward realism and presenting Northern narratives are clear in this work. Here, perhaps, we see a standing figure heralding in the close of perlerorneq (literally ‘to feel the weight of life’). This traditional Greenland Inuit practice dictates that upon first seeing the sun, one must remove a mitt and hold their hand in the air. The more devout also smile with half their face.

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From Harold Pfeiffer & John A. Stevens, The Man Who Makes Heads With His Hands: The Art and Life of Harold Pfeiffer, Sculptor. Burnstown, ON: General Store Publishing, 1997 & Kobalenko, Jerry, The Horizontal Everest: Extreme Journeys on Ellesmere Island, BPS Books, 2010)