Timothy Akis, born around 1944
on the

Alcheringa Gallery Alcheringa Gallery is an art gallery in Victoria, British Columbia. The gallery produces four to six new exhibitions every year, supplemented by ongoing new works by gallery artists. It was one of the first galleries to make use of the internet i ...

website in Tsembaga village, Simbai Valley, Madang Province,

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

, 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 an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, th ...

. His art consisted primarily in imaginative pen and ink

drawing Drawing is a form of visual art in which an artist uses instruments to mark paper or other two-dimensional surface. Drawing instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, various kinds of paints, inked brushes, colored pencils, crayons, ...

s and batiks inspired by his country's wildlife."Imagining Papua New Guinea"
National Gallery of Australia Akis had the distinction of being the second Papua New Guinean artist to hold an exhibition, at the University of Papua New Guinea in 1969. He later held exhibitions in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

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 literature, drama and poetry in Nigeria, as well as literature, drama and p ...

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 2003Niugini Arts
) w ...

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

. 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 John Man (1512–1569) was an English churchman, college head, and a diplomat. Life He was born at Lacock or Winterbourne Stoke, in Wiltshire. He was educated at Winchester College from 1523, and New College, Oxford, where he graduated B.A. in ...

and

Martin Morububuna Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austral ...

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

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

in 2007. An exhibition in

Cairns Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...

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 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. 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, to create a pattern or image on a surface, by allowing the pigment to reach ...

, 1974; National Gallery of Australia
''Bilak bokis (Flying fox)''
stencil, 1977; National Gallery of Australia
''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