In a powerful moment of artistic homecoming, two brothers recently experienced an emotional reunion with their late mother's Inuit carvings at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa.
A Long-Awaited Reunion
Brothers Noah and Tytsoosie "Ty" Tunnillie walked carefully around a large table in a National Gallery meeting room, examining six serpentinite and marble carvings that had been specially retrieved from the gallery's collection for their visit. Before arriving, both men admitted feeling excited yet nervous about confronting their mother's artistic legacy.
The atmosphere grew thick with emotion as they studied the works, occasionally speaking to each other in Inuktitut, sometimes smiling and laughing, at other moments fighting back tears. Noah later confessed that if others hadn't been present, he would have cried openly. When gallery staff offered to give them privacy, he declined, choosing instead to share this deeply personal moment.
Carving a Life Story
The sculptures were all created by their mother, Oviloo Tunnillie, a renowned artist and member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts who passed away from cancer in 2014. She once famously said of her work: "Some people write about their lives, but I carve about my life. That is the way I want to be known."
For her sons, holding these pieces meant holding the weight of their mother's life in their hands. Among the works was a piece titled Seaman, Seawoman, and Fish, depicting the Inuit sea goddess Sedna from creation mythology, along with her helper and an Arctic char.
While the brothers had seen three of the six pieces before, including a white marble work called Taleelayu that they helped complete as teenagers over three decades ago, this marked the first time they had laid eyes on the other three carvings.
Healing Through Art
The visit proved transformative for both men. "I felt very light," Ty shared after the experience, "because I hadn't seen her work in a long time." For Noah, the encounter represented a breakthrough in his grieving process. "I've been grieving," he acknowledged, unable to look at his mother's work for years after her death.
He described the experience as "a soup of emotions" that left him "hungry for a good life, the way she raised me to be. It was healing."
The brothers recalled how their mother's artistic success had practical benefits for their family in Kinngait, Nunavut (formerly Cape Dorset). The money from her sold works paid for ammunition and gas for their father, Iola Tunnillie, to participate in hunting expeditions. Noah also remembered serving as interpreter when art dealers came to view Oviloo's creations.
The National Gallery now safeguards not only Oviloo's work, but also pieces by other family members including their uncle Jutai Toonoo, grandmother Mary Qayuaryou, and great-grandmother Ikayukta Tunnillie.
The paths that brought Noah, 49, and Ty, 50, to the gallery were challenging. They came to Ottawa in 2006, with both experiencing periods of homelessness since approximately 2009. Noah, who creates graphite drawings as a hobby, recently found stable housing at the Richcraft Hope Centre on Murray Street, marking his third escape from homelessness.
Their emotional visit to the National Gallery provided not just a reconnection with their mother's artistic legacy, but a moment of profound personal healing and cultural continuity.
