An Inukshuk ( also often called an Inunnguaq / ᐃᓄᙳᐊᖅ), meaning “imitation of a person,” is a stone sculpture that is shaped to look like a body or person and has spiritual meaning with practices related to it.

While an Inukshuk does play a significant role within Inuit culture, it is more of a ceremonial role representing the spirits and often marks a sacred location.

We were commissioned to create this Inukshuk based on the Whistler Mountain Inukshuk, created for Whistler as a symbol of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in British Columbia.

Our client had a memorable and meaningful family trip to Canada, including Whistler and wanted a slightly smaller (around 8ft) replica of the original (about 3.5 m) as a memento.

Obviously, one constructed from solid stone boulders would weigh many tons and be impractical, not only to acquire and carve the stones, but to move to their final location. For this reason, glassfibre reinforced concrete (GRC) was the perfect medium. The core was sculpted from polystyrene with hand sculpted GRC as a rock-effect coating. The legs and torso weighed about 40-50kg each with the arms around 60-70 kg.