Inuk sculptor Kuzy Curley is demanding an explanation from Canadian North following the damage of his two bear sculptures under the care of the airline in a flight to Inuvik, N.W.T. last month.
The sculptures hold a combined value of $20,000. Curley is looking for compensation from the airline, which he holds liable for the damage.
Curley planned to display and potentially sell his work at the Great Northern Arts Festival in Inuvik, so he checked the sculptures as baggage before his Canadian North flight from Ottawa.
"When I was checking them, I just told them there were two large sculptures in these boxes: 'I want to make sure you guys put a fragile sign on them," Curley said.
According to the sculptor, he had packed each sculpture—each weighing approximately 31 kilograms—into individual boxes, which are wrapped in bubble wrap and clothing.
"I think for my carving to be broken it was thrown from a two-storey building," he remarked.
When he landed in Inuvik, however, the boxes did not arrive until a few days later. Curley was later informed by a festival organiser that his boxes finally arrived at the airport, but the sculptures were broken.
Both sculptures were irreparably damaged. The first—found in a box that had already been opened by the time Curley reached the airport—was a roughly 2-foot tall bear carving that served as a preliminary model for a larger piece commissioned by a private buyer in Toronto. It was broken in half, right across the sculpture’s stomach.
Curley told
CBC News that the money from the collector who commissioned the piece is on hold until he can resolve this matter.
The second sculpture, a shaman bear in orange alabaster, had its nose and one ear broken off.
"I just want [Canadian North] to realize these carvings were not just about money,” Curley explained. “I carve as my career. I want them to understand how much these carvings mean to me."
The airline is investigating how Curley’s sculptures were handled, said Canadian North spokesperson Kelly Lewis. She also said that it is “too soon” to say if the sculptor would be compensated.
"They should be shipped as cargo that is instead packaged and handled and insured properly," said Lewis. "It's the customer's role to adequately and accurately state what was in their checked baggage and that it was high value and fragile. Our role would be to either say we can ship this or tell them we can't.”
Curley asserted that whenever he ships artwork to buyers, he sends them through Canada Post, with insurance. He also noted that the Canadian North ticket agent he spoke with regarding the handling of his sculptures did not recommend putting the carvings in cargo or securing insurance.
"They should just be more careful and probably not throw stuff and handle them with care," he commented.
"Next time I'll be insuring my carvings."
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