Sean Gallagher

Ancestry: Inupiat
Based In: White Center, WA
Email: anayakkayak@gmail.com Social Media: @nativekut
Website: seangallagher.info

About the Artist
Sean Gallagher, Asuruk, Inupiaq, is a visual artist and traditional watercraft vessel builder who specializes in carving, two and three-dimensional art in using multiple mediums. His works are influenced by traditional teaching and current experiences with a reverence for the future. Themes include Environmental Justice, making visible endangered traditional works, and the experiences of essential workers including carvers and labor. Becoming a father inspires Sean's work through depictions of arctic animals in a way relatable to storytelling and the imagination. Although a lot of loss and hardships are currently being experienced, it is important that works engage youth and impacted communities to create safe spaces for them. Sean reduces barriers for others to access arts, with the understanding this is an important aspect of resilience, cultural revitalization, and equity.

Carving masks under the influence and direction of elder Larry Ahvakana (Point Barrow, Inupiaq) increased Sean’s skill set and connections to fine art. Additionally, Sean’s Uncle Lou taught Sean about design work. Sean creates traditional Skin on Frame kayaks, which often show up in his works and informs his values around connecting to place and beings in a respectful way.

At Vermillion Gallery in Seattle, with support from 4Culture Sean created Loud Seas Warming lands which relevant to Covid experiences. Through art sales, he supports mutual aid efforts, mainly in locations where services are lacking, other BIPOC businesses, and his household to increase resiliency and healing.
Sean's received support from 4Culture, the City of Seattle, Native Corporations, SEIU Martin Luther King Labor Council, and Evergreen State College Longhouse.

Currently, Sean is working on a lifesize figure made from Cedar with an upcoming exhibition in Ellensburg. Collaborations include Larry Ahvakana, Teressa White, and Yasmin Al-Hadithi. Sean is based out of White Center, just south of Seattle in Washington.

About the Art
My interest in King Island art and craft comes from my family heritage. While growing up, my grandmother told stories of the island in the arctic. Observing my Uncle Lou’s stone carvings, strengthened my sense of Inupiaq design and captured my imagination. Spending time with my family gave me a sense of being from a place of ice, snow, and walrus. Additionally, many Alaska Native people frequent urban environments, which led to other inspirations. Currently, I am working on scaling up traditional carvings from handheld to large-scale sculpture to bring visibility to endangered arts, to inspire continued practices, and to frontline workers. Native contributions and experiences are often erased and my work seeks to honor previous generations while seeking to create space for intergenerational transfer of knowledge.

My descent into studying the old ways of construction was done by building replications of skin boats (skin on frame kayaks) from the 17th to the 19th century, an endangered craft. Capturing the craftsmanship of the King Island Kayaks of this time, allowed me to bring to life an ancient craft. My works incorporate form, techniques, and relationships associated with traditional kayaks. Through participating in Northwest Inupiat Dance Group, I organized an Umiak build and produced a documentary film through my business Native Kut. The documentary, Umiak Travels, features how the Umiak changes the lives of people in the dance group. Following the impacts of Covid, I am organizing with other tribal community folks to do more camping and food sovereignty activities associated with the Umiak and canoes.

Utilizing knowledge of ancient technologies and self-exploration, I produce work that speaks to the experiences of ancestors, myself, and relatives. Many people and animals are impacted by environmental and social issues, such as covid which inspires me to incorporate these themes into my work, as our arts always tell the story of what is happening. These efforts are punctuated by the arrival of my baby, Wilx Anayak, which reaffirms the importance of holding space for future-gazing, imagining, and know the ways of ancestors.

Point of No Return: Red

alder, acrylic, upcycled respirator, white oak, 2018
photo by Mel Carter
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The Point of No Return series depicts temperature escalation in the Arctic and the thawing of permafrost layers. These dance masks demonstrate the realities Arctic peoples are facing as their communities are undergoing unprecedented climate change. If the permafrost melt is pervasive, it will release large amounts of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2), and potentially release additional dangerous gases. It is predicted that one gigaton of CH4 and thirty-seven gigatons of CO2 will be released into the atmosphere by the year 2100. This amount far exceeds the amounts released during the Industrial Revolution. If climate emergency is not addressed and human behavior does not change, the earth’s ecosystems are guaranteed to collapse. The different colors of the gas masks represent the need to support and listen to Indigenous voices, as they are among the first to be impacted by climate change. The ring represents a new cycle, with reverence to the continuity of Arctic cultures. Point of No Return: Red signals the crisis of our relationship with the earth and with each other, while Black signals the need to re-center dialogue around Indigenous communities, to listen, and to accept shared responsibility. Green signals the connectivity of Arctic cultures throughout the world and the need to promote closer connection to ecosystems in order to foster carbon sequestering. Green also symbolizes the amount of major growth needed to address climate emergency in an inclusive way, wherein collaboration is valued.

Point of No Return: Green and Black

alder, acrylic, upcycled respirator, white oak, 2018
photo by Mel Carter
contact the artist for purchase

Warm Wind Walrus & Missing Spring Walrus

alder, acrylic, copper, 2018
photo by Mel Carter

The Arctic Walrus Series highlights the effects of climate change in the walrus populations in the American arctic. Warming seas contribute to the disappearing since in these regions that contribute to the declining walrus populations. Lack of sea Ice in the late spring months make it harder for walrus to mate. Land base walrus haulouts have also become more extreme, the number of some haulouts reach 35,000 walrus in one place. In these large hall outs trampling events become more common and add the the disparity of the situation. Carving the masks, providing the copper whiskers, and different expressions represent how the shift in elements are impacting walrus experiences concurrent to the cultural and economic experiences of indigenous peoples.

Missing Spring Walrus (detail)

photo by Mel Carter

Warm Wind Walrus (detail)

photo by Mel Carter

Owl to Person Transformation Mask

alder, red cedar, white oak, acrylic paint, and seine net line, 2018

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This mask is a depiction the relationship of the snowy owl and Iñupiat to the arctic lands. The owls main food staple, lemmings, are threatened by climate change because they need deep fluffy snow to insulate them from the elements of the harsh arctic winter. Lemming population numbers are dwindling under this new pressure and the owls existence is also being threatened because the lemming are a part of their primary diet. Humans are facing a similar fate and our Indigenous food systems are under a similar pressure.

The Elements Mask

alder and acrylic paint, 2017

Heat and warmth overlay the earth and water. Melting ice caps contribute to greater water, and the force generated is illustrated as a warm concentration gathered at the forehead. The protrusion is a physical representation of the human need to reach out to connect with others and to embrace the elements when the elements are out of balance.

Gathering Strength Mask

alder, red cedar, white oak, acrylic paint, and seine net line, 2017

This mask represent the momentum occurring in the Inupiaq communities around empowerment, enhancing culture, and transforming emotion into tangible outcomes. Each hole around the mask is a void requiring gathering knowledge and innovations for maintaining hunting fishing and culture that is affected by climate change. The shallow circle around the mask represents coping and resilience to the oncoming hardships that will and are affecting the community, inner strength of a dynamic people. The mask hints at things to come rooted in deep knowledge and dynamism.

Untitled Figure

big leaf maple burl, 2021
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Work in progress. Should be finished within the week. Creating figure carvings on a larger scale brings visibility to an overlooked medium and the importance of people within our environments. Often labor and teachings are seen as transactional and this carving demonstrates the strong presence that teachings and work have. Both essential workers and carvers sometimes experience being taken for granted and this work is meant to depict the robust experiences they have.

King Island Kayak and Frame

cedar, douglas fir, white oak, 2019

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Constructed, or instructed how to build 32 skin on frame kayaks.

Arctic Goose Transcendence

acrylic on canvas, 2017

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Arctic Goose flock sticks together as the world shifts witnessing many changes.

Umiak

acrylic on heavy paper, 2016

The Umiak represents a way of life, desire for community cohesion, and the value that everyone is taken care of including the environment. It can be used for shelter, food sovereignty, and as a vehicle to connect to places.