In Her Own Words - Teresa Baker Tunkin
Teresa Baker is a Pitjantjatjara painter from Kanpi in the APY Lands of South Australia. Born in 1977 in Mparntwe (Alice Springs), she learned to paint at her community art centre alongside her mother and her grandfather, the late Jimmy Baker - one of the most important figures in the early APY Lands art movement. Teresa carries forward the Malilu story, a women's travelling Dreaming named for her ancestor.
Teresa's lineage is one of the most significant in APY Lands art. Her grandfather Jimmy Baker was a founding figure of the early painting movement; her mother Kay Baker is the current custodian of the Malilu story, with Teresa next in line to inherit that responsibility; and her daughter Clarise Tunkin is an emerging fourth-generation artist now painting alongside her. Her siblings Bradley Tunkin and Kani Tunkin are also recognised painters. Teresa's work has been a finalist in the AGNSW Wynne Prize and is regularly exhibited internationally, with her paintings held in major public and private collections in Australia and overseas.
On how she started painting
"I started painting in my community, at the Art Centre. I learned to start painting with my mother - about the country, about Malilu, the ladies, lives in the cave."
For Teresa, painting began at her community art centre, learning the women's story of Malilu alongside her mother, Kay Baker. That story has remained at the centre of her work ever since.
On her grandfather Jimmy Baker
"It was painting, telling story. When he was painting the story, he told us to paint the minyma, Malilu."
Teresa's grandfather, the late Jimmy Baker, was one of the most important figures in the early APY Lands painting movement. He taught Teresa by combining painting with the telling of story - not technique alone, but the story carried in the act of painting itself. This direct lineage places Teresa within the first generation of artists trained by the founding painters of the APY Lands.
On the Malilu story
"The story about the minyma (women), travelling from east to west. The minyma start looking for the hot spot - where minyma is going to make a place to stay, near country area."
"The passing-through story, so the world knows about the story of Malilu cave - where she lives in the cave. Travels, collecting food."
Malilu is the name of Teresa's ancestor. Minyma is the Pitjantjatjara word for women. The story has been carried in Teresa's family for generations: her mother Kay Baker is the current custodian, and Teresa is next in line to inherit that responsibility. It tells of the ancestral minyma travelling east to west, searching for a place to belong, settling in the cave where Malilu lives, and of the food gathered along the way.
On painting as teaching
"When I paint, I tell the story about the minyma - and teaching my kids, like I do."
For Teresa, painting is also a form of teaching. The same way Malilu was given to her by her mother and witnessed in her grandfather's work, she paints it for her own children - carrying the story forward through the act of making.
On colour
"Sometimes red, yellow, orange. Sometimes same colours, different colours - when I feel like, use the colours."
Teresa's palette is not tied to the story. She paints by feel, choosing colour as it comes. The result is the warmth and intensity that has become a defining feature of her work.
Painting with family
When Teresa visits Adelaide from Kanpi, she paints at our gallery alongside other senior APY women. On the day of this interview she was working with Pollyanne Smith and Margaret Wood; she also frequently paints with Rhoda Tjitayi when she is in town. Painting with family is central to how Teresa works - she has produced collaborative works with her daughter Clarise Tunkin, an emerging APY Lands artist, and with her mother Kay Baker, the current custodian of the Malilu story. The act of painting is, in her hands, an act of family.
Exhibitions abroad
Teresa's work travels widely. She is regularly exhibited in Switzerland and Texas, and has visited both Switzerland and the United States in connection with her career. International recognition has been a consistent thread through her practice, with her paintings held in major public and private collections in Australia and overseas.
Our connection to Teresa
Our connection to Teresa is a family one, not a commercial one. Jed Farquhar grew up playing football with the son of Joanne Ken, a member of the extended Ken/Baker/Tunkin family whose network connects many of the senior APY Lands artists we represent. The relationship between our family and Teresa's family long predates the gallery side of things, and it one of the reasons Teresa paints with us when she visits Adelaide from Kanpi.
About Teresa Baker
Teresa Baker is a Pitjantjatjara artist born in 1977 in Mparntwe (Alice Springs), Northern Territory. She was raised in Kanpi, a small community in the APY Lands of South Australia, and began painting in 2005 under the teaching of her grandfather, the late Jimmy Baker - one of the most important figures in early APY Lands painting. Her mother Kay Baker is the current custodian of the Malilu story, with Teresa next in line; her daughter Clarise Tunkin is an emerging fourth-generation artist. Her siblings Bradley Tunkin and Kani Tunkin are also recognised painters, placing Teresa within one of the most respected artistic families on the APY Lands.
Teresa has been a finalist in the AGNSW Wynne Prize and her work has been exhibited extensively across Australia and internationally, including in Switzerland and Texas. Her paintings are held in major public and private collections in Australia and overseas.
Art by Farquhar is a member of the Australian Aboriginal Art Association. Every painting comes with a Certificate of Authenticity and full provenance documentation.