The son of Lydia Whonnock, Sean Whonnock was born and raised in Alert Bay, B.C. His grandfather, Gideon Whonnock and godfather, Karl Svanvik have been the guiding forces in Sean Whonnock's life. At the age of nine his cousin, Joe Peters, introduced him to Northwest Coast Native art forms. By the age of twelve, he participated in and eventually completed a carving course taught by George Hunt Jr. He then carried on to apprentice with Simon Dick, who was responsible for teaching him the history and symbolic aspects of the culture and its impact on design. This knowledge further encouraged him and greatly influenced his abilities as an artist. Other influential artists on Sean’s work have been Beau Dick and Wayne Alfred, both of whom are known for their traditional carving styles. Sean has been carving since 1984 and independently since 1990, continuously developing and defining his own style.

In October of 1999, Sean completed a 25-foot totem pole commissioned by the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria. It was a commemorative pole that was a symbol of thanks to the Coast Salish people for sharing their land with the Kwakwaka’wakw people. He was involved in the pole raising ceremony which drew glowing press and public attention.

Sean has been worked on numerous projects throughout his career, on both small and large scale pieces, however, he is best known for his exquisitely detailed and traditionally carved Shaman’s rattles. These ceremonial items are in many private collections worldwide.

Currently, Sean is working with other members of his family in the process of making a replica of a 42-foot long canoe, from around 1900, that was made by one of Sean’s ancestors, Jonathan Whonnock. The elaborately carved antique war canoe is on display at the Thomas Burke Museum in Seattle, WA.