Jennifer Angaiak Wood
Jennifer Angaiak Wood an artist of Yup'ik, Irish and Italian descent. She was born and raised in Fairbanks, Alaska. The Yup'ik side of her family comes from Tununak, on the coast of the Bering Sea. Wood started carving masks when she took an Alaska Native Art class in high school, and has been mostly self-taught after the unexpected passing of her teacher, Ron Manook. Her inspirations include historic Yup’ik masks, stories, and childhood memories of Tununak. Blending contemporary concepts and materials with traditional forms, she uses art as a way to connect with her Yup'ik heritage and to bring a little bit of Yup'ik history into the modern world.