Oviloo Tunnillie (1949 - )

ATAATA
Cape Dorset, 2002
Stone, 16.5 x 8.5 x 11”

“Ataata” is the Inuit word for “father”. Oviloo decided to create this sculpture of Toonoo after memories of her father stirred up during interviews for this exhibition. Her father has been a constant influence in her art and life. The pose is a recollection of a Charles Gimpel photograph of Toonoo taken in 1958; a copy of the photo hangs on the wall of her brother’s house in Cape Dorset today. Oviloo explains: “There is a photo of my father like that, carving a kudlik in stone. It stays in my mind.”