Joel Rudinger
Images from Sedna, Goddess of the Sea
August 25 – September 26

“In Inuit mythology, Sedna is the creator-goddess of all the sea animals. When a Central Eskimo hunts for seals swimming under the fields of ice of for whales in his walrus skin umiaq far out at sea, he asks Sedna to feed his family. If he honors the animal's spirit and pours fresh water into its mouth when it has been killed, Sedna will send him another at a later time of need. But if he does not honor the spirit of the animal and neglects to give it water, Sedna will rise in anger and withhold her gifts. Then it is bad luck for the hunter. For at all times, one must be worthy.

It is also said that when famine strikes, the spirit of the village shaman swims to the bottom of the sea to ask Sedna to send his people food animals. If she allows him to comb luck out of her watery hair, they will find food and survive.

As for Sedna's dog-children, they ran away then the spirit bird lured their mother away. Some Northern Inuits believed that Sedna's dog children were the ancestors of the white man who arrived in the North Country ages later.

The story in this book combines two variations of the Sedna legend, but the truth is that there are many kinds of variations. This sea goddess, sometimes called beautiful, sometimes hideous and ugly, has been depicted in many art forms: in paintings, museum wall hangings, enamel-on-copper portraits, and stone and plaster sculptures. Her story has been enacted in plays and told in poetry, fiction, and song. Sedna has even appeared in an issue of Marvel Comics . . .

Some women's groups, one called Daughters of Sedna, consider her to be not only a goddess of the sea but a goddess of death, anger, pain, and the suffering of all women, so tortured and lonely was her life."

Joel Rudinger

When I first read Dr. Rudinger's Sedna, Goddess of the Sea, I was aware of how the illustrations could be viewed apart from the text. The intent of this exhibition is to present selected images from the book by placing them in a context whereby these high contrast black and white compositions can be appreciated individually.

David Sapp, Director, The Little Gallery