Ovilu Tunnillie
Canadian, 1949 - 2014
Ovilu Tunnillie
1949 - 2014
The child of two artist parents, Toonoo and Sheojuk, Ovilu grew up in camps before moving into Kinngait, Nunavut. Of learning to carve, Ovilu recalled "I didn't know I could carve, but watching my father, Toonoo, I learned... From there, I began to learn to carve, always noticing the beauty and shapes of the rock." She carved to provide for her family, selling her first carving in 1965. The themes in Ovilu’s work explore social issues, her time being hospitalized for tuberculosis in the south, autobiographical details, and being one of the first Inuit to carve nudes. She began carving at a time when there were few female carvers, and over the timespan of her career tackled difficult and emotional subject matter related to contemporary Inuit women. She was elected into the Royal Canadian Academy of Art in 2003. Her work has been shown internationally and is in prominent collections, including the Hermitage Museum and the National Gallery of Canada. Ovilu died in 2014.
1949 - 2014
The child of two artist parents, Toonoo and Sheojuk, Ovilu grew up in camps before moving into Kinngait, Nunavut. Of learning to carve, Ovilu recalled "I didn't know I could carve, but watching my father, Toonoo, I learned... From there, I began to learn to carve, always noticing the beauty and shapes of the rock." She carved to provide for her family, selling her first carving in 1965. The themes in Ovilu’s work explore social issues, her time being hospitalized for tuberculosis in the south, autobiographical details, and being one of the first Inuit to carve nudes. She began carving at a time when there were few female carvers, and over the timespan of her career tackled difficult and emotional subject matter related to contemporary Inuit women. She was elected into the Royal Canadian Academy of Art in 2003. Her work has been shown internationally and is in prominent collections, including the Hermitage Museum and the National Gallery of Canada. Ovilu died in 2014.