Mimi, 2005, Joshua Djununwanga
Natural earth pigments on carved wood, 118cm
Provenance: Maningrida Arts & Culture, Northern Territory. Chapman Gallery, Canberra. The Alan Boxer Collection, Canberra. Mossgreen, Melbourne.
From the authenticity certificate: Aboriginal people in the rocky environments of the western and south-eastern Arnham Land tell of the existence of tall slender spirits, the Mimih. It is believed that the Mimih spirits live in a social organisation similar to Aboriginal people and that Mimih society pre-dates humans. Mimih are credited with instructing the first peoples with the knowledge to survive in the Arnham Land - how to hunt, butcher game, and also how to dance, sing and paint. Whilst usually benign to humans, sometimes Mimih are mischievous and even dangerous spirits. Mimih are so thin that they can only emerge on completely still days and nights to hunt - the rest of the time, they disappear to their cavern homes.