Timothy Akis, born around 1944
on the

Alcheringa Gallery Mark Loria Gallery (formerly Alcheringa Gallery) is a Canadian contemporary art gallery specializing in Northwest Coast, Coast Salish, and Canadian indigenous fine art. The gallery exhibits artwork from the contemporary period (1960s forward) as ...

website in Tsembaga village, Simbai Valley,

Madang Province Madang is a Provinces of Papua New Guinea, province of Papua New Guinea. The province is on the northern coast of mainland Papua New Guinea and has many of the country's highest peaks, active volcanoes and its biggest mix of languages. The capi ...

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

, died in 1984,Niugini Arts
/ref> was a Papua New Guinean

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating the work of art. The most common usage (in both everyday speech and academic discourse) refers to a practitioner in the visual arts o ...

. His art consisted primarily in imaginative pen and ink

drawing Drawing is a Visual arts, visual art that uses an instrument to mark paper or another two-dimensional surface, or a digital representation of such. Traditionally, the instruments used to make a drawing include pencils, crayons, and ink pens, some ...

s and

batik Batik is a dyeing technique using wax Resist dyeing, resist. The term is also used to describe patterned textiles created with that technique. Batik is made by drawing or stamping wax on a cloth to prevent colour absorption during the dyein ...

s inspired by his country's wildlife."Imagining Papua New Guinea"

National Gallery of Australia The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...

Akis had the distinction of being the second Papua New Guinean artist to hold an exhibition, at the

University of Papua New Guinea The University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) is a university located in Port Moresby, capital of Papua New Guinea. It was established by ordinance of the Australian administration in 1965. This followed the Currie Commission which had enquired ...

in 1969. He later held exhibitions in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, the

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Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, the

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and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Ulli Beier Chief Horst Ulrich Beier, commonly known as Ulli Beier (30 July 1922 – 3 April 2011), was a German editor, writer and scholar who had a pioneering role in developing the Western world's understanding of literature, drama and poetry in Niger ...

described Akis' artwork from his first exhibition in these terms: :''"The delicate freshness of these drawings owes nothing to the traditions of his people, whose artwork consisted mainly of geometric shield designs. Unburdened by the rigid conventions of ancient traditions and uninhibited by western education, Akis created his personal image of a world of animals and men."'' Examples of Akis' artwork were reproduced in the inaugural issue of Beier' ''Kovave: A Journal of New Guinea literature'', alongside the work of fellow artists such as

Mathias Kauage Mathias Kauage O.B.E. (1944 in Miugu, Chimbu Province, Papua New Guinea – May 2003)Niugini Arts
...

. Kauage's own art was reportedly inspired by visiting Akis' exhibition. In the 1970s and early 1980s, Akis divided his time between

subsistence farming Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow crops on smallholdings to meet the needs of themselves and their families. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements. Planting decisions occ ...

in his native village and working on his art in

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New ...

. During a posthumous exhibition, the Tamworth Regional Gallery (Australia) identified Akis as one of Papua New Guinea's leading print and drawing artists, along with Mathias Kauage, John Man and

Martin Morububuna Martin may refer to: Places Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Europe * Martin, Croatia, a village * Martin, Slovakia, a city * Martín del Río, Aragón, Spain * Mart� ...

. Akis' art was also exhibited posthumously at the Musée des Confluences in

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

in 2007. An exhibition in

Cairns Cairns (; ) is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the , Cairns had a population of 153,181 people. The city was founded in 1876 and named after William Cairns, Sir W ...

that same year celebrated Akis' "international reputation", along with that of other notable Papua New Guinean artists, and his art was also displayed at the

in 2007. In 2008, his work featured alongside that of Kuagae and Morububuna an exhibition in

Clarence Valley Clarence Valley Council is a local government area in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia. The council services an area of and draws its name from the Clarence River, which flows through most of the council area. The area ...

, then alongside that of Jakupa Ako and Mathias Kauage at the

East-West Center East West (or East and West) may refer to: *East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture Arts and entertainment Books, journals and magazines *'' East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salm ...

Gallery."Confronting modernity"
''Star Bulletin'', 20 July 2008 The ninth issue of the ''Australian Art Review'' described Beier's "mentorship" relationship with Akis. Akis' art has been featured in the book ''La peinture des Papous'',Roger Boulay (ed.), ''La peinture des Papous'', 1995, along with that of Mathias Kauage, Jakupa Ako and

John Siune John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second Ep ...

. The ''Star Bulletin'' described Akis as having had "a major influence on the nation's art as edemonstrated how indigenous culture could be reflected in contemporary art forms."

Examples of Akis' artwork

''Untitled''

stencil Stencilling produces an image or pattern on a surface by applying pigment to a surface through an intermediate object, with designed holes in the intermediate object. The holes allow the pigment to reach only some parts of the surface creatin ...

, 1974;

''Bilak bokis (Flying fox)''
stencil, 1977;

''Untitled''
1985;

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Akis, Timothy Papua New Guinean painters 1944 births 1984 deaths People from Madang Province People from the National Capital District (Papua New Guinea) 20th-century Papua New Guinean painters