Jean Baptiste Apuatimi (1940-2013) is internationally acclaimed as a painter, carver and printmaker. She was born at Pirlangimpi, Melville Island, NT, into the Japijapunga (March Fly) skin group. In 1991 she participated in her first exhibition; the next year the National Gallery of Victoria acquired eight of her bark paintings. Apuatimi exhibited widely and earned significant recognition as both an artist and a custodian of Tiwi culture. Her work is held in public and private collections around the world, including the British Museum (UK), the Seattle Museum of Art (USA) and the National Museum of Women in the Arts (USA).

Apuatimi's design for our Tiwi Collection is called Jilamara, a Tiwi word that refers to the ochre patterning traditionally painted on the bodies of dancers and on carved poles during Pukumani ceremonies. Jilamara is unique to the art and culture of Tiwi Islanders.