Marion Tuu'luq LL.D (1910–2002), also known as Anguhadluq, Tudluq, Tuuluq, and Toodlook, was an Inuk artist in

mixed media In visual art, mixed media describes artwork in which more than one medium or material has been employed. Assemblages, collages, and sculpture are three common examples of art using different media. Materials used to create mixed media art incl ...

and

textile Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

s. She "drew upon vivid colors, symmetry, and anthropomorphic imagery, to create vibrant tapestries which depict stories, legends, and personal experiences."

Early life

Tuu'luq was born in 1910 in the

Chantrey Inlet Chantrey Inlet (''Tariunnuaq'') is a bay on the Arctic coast of Canada. It marks the southeast "corner" where the generally east–west coast turns sharply north. To the west is the Adelaide Peninsula and to the east is mainland. King William I ...

/ Back River area of the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...

(now

Nunavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' ...

, north-west of

Hudson Bay Hudson Bay ( crj, text=ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, translit=Wînipekw; crl, text=ᐐᓂᐹᒄ, translit=Wînipâkw; iu, text=ᑲᖏᖅᓱᐊᓗᒃ ᐃᓗᐊ, translit=Kangiqsualuk ilua or iu, text=ᑕᓯᐅᔭᕐᔪᐊᖅ, translit=Tasiujarjuaq; french: b ...

. In the 1960s, she was part of a semi-nomadic group of

Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...

who, facing the threat of starvation, were forced to change their nomadic lifestyle and move to the settlement of Baker Lake. While she was relieved to escape hardship, she expressed sorrow at the loss of her nomadic lifestyle. Her personal history emerges in her work as she attends to the significance of land and family in contemporary Inuit life. Tuu'luq's "A Story of Starvation," as told to Susan Tagoona, shares her experience growing up in the

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

and her struggle for survival. She was married twice and had 16 children, four of whom outlived her. Her second husband, the celebrated Baker Lake artist Luke Anguhadluq died in 1982.

Work

Tuu'luq used embroidery thread, felt, and dense woollen fabrics. She was a part of a circle of northern fabric artists (including

Jessie Oonark Jessie Oonark, ( ᔨᐊᓯ ᐅᓈᖅ; 2 March 1906 – 7 March 1985) was a prolific and influential Inuit artist of the Utkuhiksalik, Utkuhihalingmiut ''Utkuhiksalingmiut'' whose wall hangings, prints and drawings are in major collections includ ...

and

Irene Avaalaaqiaq Tiktaalaaq Irene Avaalaaqiaq Tiktaalaaq (born 1941) is one of Canada's most renowned Inuit artists. Her work is rooted in her lived experience, often dealing with themes of being an orphan and Inuit stories her grandmother told her.Nasby 2002, p. 3. Avaal ...

) who helped establish the contemporary art form of large-scale, two-dimensional, embroidered textile works. Tuu’luq’s works have been displayed nationally and internationally and collected by numerous private collectors and public institutions, including the

Art Gallery of Ontario The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO; french: Musée des beaux-arts de l'Ontario) is an art museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The museum is located in the Grange Park neighbourhood of downtown Toronto, on Dundas Street West between McCaul and Beve ...

, the

Edmonton Art Gallery The Art Gallery of Alberta (AGA) is an art museum in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The museum occupies a building at Churchill Square in downtown Edmonton. The museum building was originally designed by Donald G. Bittorf, and B. James Wensley, alth ...

Museum London Museum London is an art and history museum located in London, Ontario, Canada. It is located near the forks of the Thames River. It started its operations in 1940 with London Public Library and amalgamated with London Regional Art Gallery and Lon ...

, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Thunder Bay Art Gallery,

Vancouver Art Gallery The Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG) is an art museum in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The museum occupies a adjacent to Robson Square in downtown Vancouver, making it the largest art museum in Western Canada by building size. Designed by Franc ...

, Artexte Information Gallery, Canadian Women Artists History Initiative Documentation Centre,

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.University of Saskatchewan A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

Archives, the

Winnipeg Art Gallery The Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG) is an art museum in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Its permanent collection includes over 24,000 works from Canadian, Indigenous Canadian, and international artists. The museum also holds the world's largest collect ...

as well as the

National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (french: Musée des beaux-arts du Canada), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the l ...

. She was also a member of the

Royal Canadian Academy of Arts The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) is a Canadian arts-related organization that was founded in 1880. History 1880 to 1890 The title of Royal Canadian Academy of Arts was received from Queen Victoria on 16 July 1880. The Governor General ...

, and given an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuuluq, Marion 1910 births 2002 deaths Inuit textile artists Members of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts Textile artists 20th-century Canadian women artists Canadian Inuit women Women textile artists Indigenous fashion designers of the Americas Inuit from the Northwest Territories Inuit from Nunavut People from Baker Lake Canadian textile artists Canadian women fashion designers