Inuit legend of spirits playing soccer with a walrus skull was chosen for the Pan American Games
Two Inuit carvers from Nunavut are living out their dream, working on a 26-tonne block of granite to create a traditional sculpture, which will be housed at Toronto's York University.
"When it first came here, I thought I felt like I was dreaming," said Cape Dorset's Kuzy Curley, one of the two artists working on the piece. "I've been wanting to do a monument this big since I first started carving as a young boy."
The team is collaborating on a 26-tonne block of granite to depict an Inuit legend about spirits playing soccer with a walrus skull. The design, called "Ahqahizu," was chosen to coincide with the Pan Am and Parapan Am Games, which recently took place at the university.
"Sometimes when I go up against it, it's like: 'What did I get myself into?'" said Pond Inlet's Ruben Komangapik, the other artist working on the sculpture.
Carving the sculpture, said Curley, has been a learning experience, because usually he only works on small pieces and rarely works with a material as tough as granite.