Mathew Aqiggaaq (b. 1940) was born near Kazan River Falls, but moved to Baker Lake, Nunavut in the 1950s. Soon after that he contracted tuberculosis and was sent to a sanitarium in Winnipeg for treatment. Upon his return to Baker Lake, the effects of the disease left him unable to hunt. As a result, he worked for two years as a carpenter and later as a full-time sculptor. In the late 1960s, he gained recognition as a talented artist, with three of his works included in the acclaimed international touring exhibition Sculpture/Inuit (1971–1973). He is best known for his depictions of human figures, especially scenes of mothers with their children rendered in voluminous compositions of convex forms.