Born: 1970

He is one of Salliq’s greatest and most respected sculptors. Ningeocheak’s experimentation and use with different subject matters have helped establish his community as a prominent region for this style of art.

Ningeocheak focuses primarily on depicting birds, owls, muskoxen and transformation scenes. He credits some of his mentors for their inspiration to make transformation and spiritual scenes. “I started carving with George Arluk and Alex Alikashuak,” he says of his early career. “They made transformations and abstract things and I began to make them too.”

Now an established artist, Ningeocheak has developed his own unique style characterized by artworks that carry incredible mass and presence. His owls are squat, with balloon-round heads and beady, inset eyes. With deep-set sockets and heavy brows, the faces of the artist’s transformation figures are often mysterious, their lack of detail leaving room for intrigue. Ningeocheak currently lives in Salliq (Coral Harbour), NU, and uses the tough local stone.