Articles - 23 July 2007

Nyukana Baker

Nyukana Baker commenced designing, weaving and painting at Ernabella Arts in 1963. Situated on Anangu Pitjantjatjara Lands in the north-west of South Australia, Ernabella began its role as an Aboriginal arts centre in 1948 and in its early years was run by the Ernabella Mission. Spinning and weaving wool rugs in the craft room after school was Baker's introduction to foreign materials and techniques.

In 1971 Baker was amongst the first members to learn batik, and she joined two other Ernabella artists on a study trip in 1975 to the Batik Research Insitute of Yogykarta, Indonesia. The Gallery owns a fine batik created by Baker in 1955. Baker and her fellow Ernabella artists have maintained an active interest in experimenting with new mediums. Ceramics were introduced in 1997 through Robin Best and Stephen Bowers - terracotta plates were thrown at the JamFactory and then shipped to Ernabella to have designs painted in underglaze. The plates were subsequently returned to Adelaide for glazing and firing. Many were exhibited in Tjungu Warkarintja: Working Together at the JamFactory in 1998 and the Gallery acquired a Nyukana Baker plate from this exhibition.

A permanent ceramic studio, complete with electric kiln, was established at Ernabella in 2003, and Peter Ward became the first resident ceramics studio coordinator. In scale and exuberance, Baker's Jar from 2004 is a reflection of the new-found freedom in being able to have the forms thrown, decorated and fired at Ernabella. Exhibited in Inuntji - fresh like flowers after rain at the JamFactory, Baker's Jar epitomises the layers of meaning implicit in the title, 'Inuntji': fresh plant growth, especially blossom, the strong colours in this new work and the creative burst of activity from the women at Ernabella.

Baker uses decorative underglazes to create designs and patterns on the Jar, which are known as walka. Walka has become synonymous with Ernabella and is expressed in paintings, rugs, batiks, and now ceramics. The depiction of free-flowing curvilinear leaves and plants emerging from seemingly abstract configurations relates to the earliest Ernabella drawings of the late 1940s. They do not relate to Dreamings or rituals, but rather embody the artist's connection with their country and culture. Nyukana Baker's Jar was acquired through the newly established Ed and Sue Tweddel Fund for South Australian Contemporary Art and can be seen in the SALA Festival display in gallery 10.

Robert Reason
Curator of European and Australian Decorative Arts
Art Gallery of South Australia

Image:
Ernabella Arts Inc., Ernabella, South Australia, established 1948
Nyukana Baker, decorator, born Ernabella 1943
Jar, 2004, Ernabella, South Australia
terracotta with underglaze decoration, 71.0x25.0 cm diameter;
Ed and Sue Tweddell Fund for South Australian Contemporary Art 2005

Also see: 716 craft·design Issue #23 August 2007
Special issue on Indigenous craft and design