Mimi Sprits & Animalsby Alan Ah Kit

Illustrated in a cross-hatching art style (cross-hatching is where diagonal lines are drawn close together to create shadow or depth) the painting depicts Mimi spirits and animals which can been seen on rock formations in the Top End of Australia.

The Mimi's are tall, thin beings that live in the rocky escarpment of northern Australia as spirits. Before the coming of Aboriginal people they had human forms. Mimi spirits are generally harmless but on occasions can be mischievous.

When Aboriginal people first came to northern Australia, the Mimi taught them how to hunt and cook kangaroos and other animals. They also did the first rock paintings and taught Aboriginal people how to paint.

Artist:Alan Ah Kit
Title:Mimi Sprits & Animals
ID:0601409
Medium:Acrylic on Canvas
Size:117 x 65 cm
Region:Alice Springs, Central Australia

Artist

Alan Ah Kit was an Alice Springs based artist. Sadly he passed away in the 1990’s and not much is known of his history. What we do know is that he sold many of his beautiful artworks to many of the local galleries in Alice Springs, being most popular in the 1980’s. His artworks depicted many Indigenous animal totem stories. His Dreaming stories typically resemble totems from the Top End of the Northern Territory. His stylised works always depicted an animal totem or Mimi Spirits at the centre of his artworks with the use dotting or “smearing” of paint in the background. Alan’s paintings all bear his name on the front of the canvas.

Out of respect of Alan, his family and Aboriginal culture Central Art has removed his photograph as a sign of respect. In Aboriginal culture once someone has passed on traditionally you were unable to use their name, in modern times this has also included the use of their photographs, films or voice recordings.

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