Adamie Ashevak was born at the nursing station in the community of Cape Dorset (Kinngait) in 1959. He is the son of the renowned Cape Dorset artists Kenojuak and Johnniebo. The family was still living in an outpost camp at the time, moving into the community when Ashevak was seven years old so that the children could attend school.

Ashevak began carving when he was around ten years old, learning from both his father and mother, famous for their graphic art, but also accomplished sculptors. He became a serious artist at the age of 18. 

Ashevak has carved a niche for himself among Cape Dorset artists, creating commanding sculptures of animals. Whereas Kenojuak's signature subject was the bird, her son chose the bear as the conduit for his creative energy. "I like polar bears so much. I like to watch them," he explains. "Every time when we are boating and we see a bear, I try to get closer to them." In addition to this type of nature study, he credits Nuna Parr with providing practical tips on the sculpting of bears during his formative years.

Like his mother before him, his art eschews narrative or social commentary in favour of more formal artistic concerns. He conjures massive, fluid figures from hard stone by working with modern power tools that have greatly expanded his technical possibilities. Ashevak works faster and on a larger scale than his mother could ever manage with hand tools, achieving daring compositional feats that add to the powerful realism of his subjects.

Exhibitions

• Cape Dorset Sculpture, Eskimo Art Inc.