Clarise Tunkin

Date of Birth: 1993
Place of Birth: Alice Springs, NT
Language: Pitjantjatjara
Community: Kanpi, SA

Family
Clarise Tunkin is a Pitjantjatjara artist from a highly recognized family of artists. Her great-grandfather was Jimmy Baker (c.1915-2010) a foundation artist at Kanpi where his family were the traditional owners for the outstation and its lands. Clarise’s grandmother Kay Baker and mother Teresa Baker have continued the very strong artistic tradition of the family.

Career
Clarise began her own painting career in 2012 and was represented in the 2015 and 2016 Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (NATSIAA). Clarise was taught by her mother Teresa Baker and paints stories of Country associated with Marlilu, a Pitjantjatjara ancestral creation figure. Clarise was taken to locations connected to the story by her mother when she was about fifteen.

Style
Clarise Tunkin paints in a style recognisably linked to the artistic tradition on the APY Lands in general and to her own family throughout the previous three generations. She has been exhibiting her work since 2015 in galleries across Australia.

Aboriginal Art Status
Rising Star