Nunavut snow sculpture a threat to public safety

DENISE RIDEOUT

OTTAWA — Nunavut’s chance to show off its sculptors’ talents and highlight the territory’s majestic wildlife came toppling down last week — into a big heap of snow in Ottawa.

Three sculptors from Sanikiluaq were in the national capital to participate in the Canada snow sculpture competition, one of the biggest attractions of Ottawa’s Winterlude festival.

During the event, teams of three sculptors from each province and territory have 43 hours to turn a 16-foot-high, 12-foot-wide, 12-foot-deep, 40-tonne block of snow into a piece of art.

The Nunavut team, made up of sculptors Kupapik Ningeocheak, Joe Emikotailuk and Ali Qittosuk, set out to carve a polar bear, owl and loon for their piece, “Animal Kingdom of the Arctic.”

But their massive sculpture had to be torn down on Feb. 7, a day before judging.

Two cracks — one measuring about 40 centimetres — developed in the lower part of the sculpture, in the legs of the polar bear.

“There was construction happening three blocks away and there was some blasting. Then, the sculpture cracked in the back leg and then in the front leg,” said Ningeocheak, captain of Nunavut’s team.

“We heard it crack when I was working under the bear and I called out to the guys to get out of there. The crack was getting bigger and bigger,” Ningeocheak said.

The Nunavut sculptors tried repairing the cracks by adding more snow and water, but the cracks were too big.

Organizers of the snow sculpture competition feared the large chunk of snow could topple over at any moment.

“It had become a safety hazard,” said Natalie LeBlanc, coordinator of the winter festival event.

She was forced to order it demolished.

“We decided the best thing to do was to take it down because it was such a risk to the Nunavut team and not only them, but the public and the other sculptors around them.”

About 20 minutes after LeBlanc examined the sculpture’s cracks, a back-hoe was demolishing the piece.

It’s the first time in the competition’s six-year history that a sculpture has had to be torn down.

The move was a big blow to the Nunavut team members. “It was disappointing. We wanted to satisfy all of Nunavut,” Ningeocheak said.

The team decided not to attend the competition’s award ceremony on Feb. 9. But, Ningeocheak said, the sculptors enjoyed the experience of working with snow — a shift from the soapstone they usually work with.

“We had a good time. It was a healthy environment to work in. We’re looking forward to doing it again next year and I’m looking around for more events in Canada and the United States to compete in,” Ningeocheak said.

The competition’s organizer said despite losing their sculpture, the Nunavut team were good sports about it.

“As soon as we took it down, they ran onto the snow block and had their picture taken with the rubble,” LeBlanc said.

The Prince Edward Island team took top prize in the competition for their sculpture depicting the Canadian war memorial at Vimy Ridge, France.