Billy Gauthier

Billy Gauthier’s relationship to, and respect for, the natural world is threaded through a lifestyle that is very connected to his home territory, Nunatsiavut. With reverence and resourcefulness, Gauthier upcycles organic materials found on the land such as stone, ivory, bone, antler, sinew and baleen. His sculptures explore Inuit cosmologies, contemporary social issues and the critical importance of land and water stewardship. By coupling the Inuit artistic tradition of reductive carving with his commitment to activism, he pushes the critical importance of mobilizing Inuit culture forward. 

For the Biennale, Gauthier has been commissioned to produce a new sculpture on site. Working with a massive fin whale skull bone, the artist will carve it over the course of seven days, in indebted collaboration with the whale’s spirit. This real time creative marathon will push the artist’s own limits, confidence, and the technical skills he has mastered since he started carving at the age of 16. As unique and rare as the whale bone itself, visitors will have the opportunity to witness the transformation of raw material through Gauthier’s technical skills and artistic vision. 

Download Billy’s story of The Earth, Our Mother.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Billy Gauthier is an lnuk artist (Nunatsiavut Beneficiary), culturist, activist, environmentalist, hunter, and fisherman, born in Happy Valley­Goose Bay, Labrador. In his early years he travelled eastern Canada, residing and schooling in Ottawa, as well as Yarmouth and Halifax in Nova Scotia, returning at age thirteen to live in Goose Bay. He currently lives in North West River, Labrador, and enjoys fishing and hunting on the land with his family. A self-taught artist, Gauthier began carving in 1996 after his mom arranged for him to visit his cousin John Terriak, a known sculptor in Labrador. Gauthier carves in a variety of materials including serpentine, anhydrite, ivory, antler and bone. His sculptures reveal personal memories, as well as insights on traditional life in Labrador. Over the last 20 years Gauthier’s artworks have found homes in the oldest and most established Inuit art collections, as well as drawing new collectors to the art form. His innovative and personal style has established him as one of the definitive Inuit artists of his generation.