Ovilu Tunnillie

Ovilu (Oviloo) Tunnillie RCA (December 20, 1949 – June 12, 2014) was born at Kangia, Baffin Island, Northwest Territories (now Nunavut) and was an Inuk sculptor. Her carvings served as her commentary on both traditional and changing contemporary Inuit culture. She was one of the first Inuit artists to work with an autobiographical theme.

At a young age, Oviloo's family was disrupted by the government's forced removal of tuberculosis (TB) patients to sanitariums in southern Canada. She was taken to Clearwater Lake Indian Hospital in Manitoba, where she spent two year-long stays. The experience of dehumanization and alienation by white officials remained a major theme in her art.

Tunnillie came from a noted artistic family. Her parents, Sheojuke Toonoo (1928–2012) and Toonoo (1920–1969) were noted artists and her grandmother, Mary Qayuaryuk (1908–1982), (also known as Kudjuakjuk) was also a sculptor, who inspired her to become a sculptor. However as an eldest daughter, Ovilu's interest in sculpture was unaligned with typical social roles, and she often faced pressure from family to abandon her practice at a young age.