Jean Baptiste Apuatimi

Jean Baptiste Apuatimi (1940–2013) was a significant Tiwi Island artist whose work is held at most major and several minor Australian galleries and the British Museum. Her works were first exhibited in 1991 in group shows. From 1997 until her death, Apuatimi worked full-time with the Tiwi Design Aboriginal Cooperative (now Tiwi Designs).

Early life Jean Baptiste was born in 1940 at Pirlangimpi (Garden Point) on Yermalner (Melville Island) in the East Timor Sea. Her father's name for her was Pulukatu. As a child she moved with her family to Bathurst Island. She was educated as a "dormitory girl" at the Catholic Bathurst Island Mission. Her parents selected Declan Apuatimi, ten years her senior, as her husband and she was married to him at age 14 years.

Career Baptiste credited her artist husband, renowned carver Declan Apuatimi, as inspiring and teaching her how to create artwork. Following Apuatimi's first solo show in 1987, Tiwi Islands artists gained national and international recognition. The creation of a market for their work strengthened the traditional aesthetic of Tiwi artworks, and Baptiste became a leading exponent of this style. Baptiste attended the opening, where Joyce N. Bogosian captured a striking photograph of her in front of one of her artworks, Yirrakamini (2007).

The exhibition for the Darwin Festival in 2012 featured works by Baptiste and Maria Josette Orsto. Titled Maternal Lines the exhibition commenced on 11 August 2012 at the Northern Editions Gallery, Charles Darwin University Campus.

Her works featured prominently in the 2020–21 National Gallery of Victoria's TIWI exhibition. They included Purrukuparli and Wai-ai and Purrukuparli ngirramini (earth pigments on canvas) paintings of the story of Purrukuparli about how death first came to the Tiwi and the origins of the first pukumani (mourning) ceremony. Other paintings are on bark Jilamara, Pamijini, Pamijini alikwampini amintiya tutini and more (earth pigments on stringybark) which are abstractions of jilmara (body painting), tutini (poles) and pamijini (arm bands).

Her work, Jikapayinga, was shown in Part Two of the exhibition, "Know my name: Australian women artists 1900 to now" at the National Gallery of Australia.

Artistic style Baptiste is renowned for bringing to the world the Tiwi Island style of jilamara—or what she called "body painting style". Twenty works by Jean Baptiste Apuatimi held at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV). Jilamara (2012) by Jean Baptiste Apuatimi at Art Gallery of NSW. Jean Baptiste Apuatimi works at Charles Darwin University Art Collection and Art Gallery. Parlini Jilmara Tunga and Tunga (basket) at the British Museum. Pwanga at Art Gallery of New South Wales.