The Inuksuk is supposed to help show a safe path...

Ronan gave me a broken Inuksuk, a sort of stone representation of a human figure made by First Nations in Northern Canada and the Arctic. Out in the landscape large Inuksuks are built to guide travellers and show a safe way forward. Small ones are made as a kind of lucky mascots given to someone setting out on a journey, and this is how Ronan got his one, before he left Canada to return to Belfast. He meant that it had been a kind of sculpture, and since it was now broken, it was open to be reinterpreted by me.

...now much safer.

I wanted to emphasize the vulnerability of the original figure, that what had been intended as a protective mascot had actually gotten broken itself, and keep the human form in the new sculpture, but introduce an element of outside action to safeguard the situation. By carefully wrapping it in strong thread I not only healed the break in the sculpture, but added a protective padding making it highly unlikely that the figure would break again if dropped on the floor. Perhaps the Inuksuk really had worked, in way of sacrificing itself and soaking up all the danger facing Ronan on his trip home. If so, this was my way of thanking the magic of the little man, by mending him and returning him to duty.

Object no. 17