Operation Dancing Bears

KXB Studio hit the rode last week to continue work on the Polar Bear Project in Quebec City, Canada! I visited gallery owner, Jean-Robert Wilhemy, at the Inuit Art Zone to take pictures of his dancing bear sculptures.

IMG_6378I painted this in college from a photo I took about ten years ago. My dream of returning the painting to its origin came true on the first night. (Château Frontenac, Oil on Canvas)

This is a unique pink marble sculpture carved by Markoosie Papigatok. The bear symbolizes the link between the natural and spiritual world. When shamans wish to communicate with the spirit world they dance to the beat of drums and are believed to transform into a bear. I’ll be using this and 23 other sculptures to animate a dance by digitally replacing each photograph to create the illusion of movement.

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Jean-Robert was a very gracious host. He opened his gallery to me and taught me about the sculptures. The Inuit Art Zone is located in the heart of Old Quebec and has a beautiful array of Inuit sculptures. Here, Jean-Robert, Lulu, and I are doing the bear dance.

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