Teresa McKeeman Purla

Teresa McKeeman Purla was born in 1963 in Darwin. Daughter of Barbara Weir and the granddaughter of the late Minnie Pwerle, both highly reputed Utopian artists. She relates to the stories from her mother’s country, Atnwengerrp, and is learningAnmatyerre and Alyawarr languages

Teresa spent much of her early life between Alice Springs, Darwin and the community of Papunya. However, her schooling took her as far as Adelaide and Perth.

Today she lives in the community of Atnwengerrp on the Utopia homelands north east of Alice Springs. Teresa currently serves on the Ampilatwitja Council, which has responsibilities for the surrounding communities.

Teresa began her painting career in 1990, under the tutelage of her mother Barbara Weir. Her paintings are highly detailed, often multi-layered and feature finely executed dot work. Teresa’s current paintings have an underlying influence from the series that her mother Barbara Weir created titled ’My Mother’s Country’. This series reflects the strong family ties to the Anmatyerre culture of the Utopia region.

Teresa Purla’s paintings have been exhibited in Sydney, Canberra, and Melbourne, as well as in Paris and Copenhagen.