Jean Baptiste Apuatimi, Untitled - MUIIJBA123 - Parlini Jilamara, 2011, ochre on linen, 100 x 160 cm
In 1987, she held her first solo exhibition which led to increased critical attention on the art coming from the Tiwi islands.
Jean Baptiste Apuatimi, born in 1940, on Melville island which, along with ten other islands, forms the Tiwi Islands. Her husband Declan Apuatimi, a prominent artist whose carvings are held in the collections of the NGV and other major state museums, Jean counts as a source of inspiration, gifting her the confidence to develop her own practice. His death in 1985 led to Jean Baptiste to take up painting, in part as a way to carry on his legacy. In 1987, she held her first solo exhibition which led to increased critical attention on the art coming from the Tiwi islands.