Egor Chechulin
Walrus tusk carving is a special tradition of the Chukchi, but also of the Koryak living further south. Egor Chechulin, who comes from Anapka on Kamchatka’s east coast, continues this tradition in his own artistic way.
Travelling by dog sledge with his father during his childhood, he noticed that small pieces had to be carved continuously for the sledges. Later, when he was in charge of film screenings organised by the “Cultural Brigades“ in reindeer herders’ camps, he was fascinated by small utensils, such as boxes for sewing needles, thimbles or pieces of reindeer harness the reindeer herders were making.
He started carving small figurines and soon noticed that the tourists liked them. He thus developed his artistic skills to earn his living by this means. He ended up moving to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatski, the peninsula’s capital, where his workshop was located and where he also graduated in Psychology from the university.