Inua Spirit Figure – ON HOLD
EXHIBITION:
Drew Michael: Water’s Edge“Inua Spirit is a sculpture figure that I originally drew out on paper and then carved a wood panel so that a print could be made with a steam roller. The image has brought many people joy and tells of a bird who is sharing its inner spirit with the onlooker. After many years of loving the image I decided it was time to create a physical being. Both sides are mirror images of itself. I had a couple moments when I couldn’t believe I was witnessing this spirit come to life and share its inner spirit with me.”
“”Inua Spirit Man” has three main themes. The main form the body is very elongated with a main head on the top, this represents an iconic being that one may see an old church or the Bible. The feathers create an imaginary line around the head acting like a halo you would see on icons within the church. The second element relates to the chakras starting from the base of the form up to face in the icon being. If you take the time to look at the two faces within the form, one is located on the top of the icon and the second is located where the heart chakra would be. To find true balance in oneself there has to be communication between the head and the heart, that’s when you will find your true voice. The last element connects the human and the animal spirits together in what one may see in old Yupik masks as human and animal elements. If you look at the hand on the left there is a hole in the middle of it.
On the old masks this would represent the spirits coming in and out of this form to communicate their message. The fingers on this hand are colored dark to represent how old shamans with dip their hands in the earth before they were to heal somebody. This would be a form of purification and connecting to the earth along with protecting oneself from evil spirits. If you look at the ring finger on the left hand you will see that it is dark and has a line flowing up the arm and into the heart space. This represents how our spirits are connected directly to our heart and our head.”
-Drew Michael