St Luke’s Early Learning Centre in Chapman is honoured to share the Mimih artworks displayed in the downstairs hallway of our centre.
These artworks were generously donated to our Early Learning Community in loving memory of Ilse Hansen, a deeply loved Oma to Kiaan and Bodhi Hansen-Popat. This gift carries great meaning for our community, and we extend our thanks to the Hansen family for entrusting these significant works to our shared space.
The Gentle Teachers of the Dreaming
In Kunwinjku culture, from West Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory, Mimih (also spelled Mimi) spirits are believed to have lived in the escarpments since the beginning of time. Described as tiny, match‑thin beings, Mimih are understood as the original spirit teachers who existed before humans.
When Aboriginal people first came to northern Australia, Mimih spirits taught them essential skills for living on Country. These included how to hunt and prepare kangaroos and other animals, how to weave, fish and gather food, and how to control and use fire.
The Mimih also brought knowledge of painting, creating the first rock paintings and passing on artistic techniques that allowed history, spirituality and law to be remembered. In cultures without a written language, painting became a vital way of recording and preserving the stories of the Ancestral Beings who shaped the land during the Dreaming.
Art, Ceremony and Knowledge Passed On
The Mimih are often depicted as dynamic figures carrying tools such as spears, spear throwers, dilly bags and fire sticks. Through ceremony, song, dance and art, they shared knowledge with marrkidjbu (old medicine men), who then passed these teachings to Elders, ensuring cultural continuity across generations.
The artworks displayed at St Luke’s were created by artists from Injalak Arts, a well‑known Aboriginal art centre in West Arnhem Land, near the community of Gunbalanya (formerly Oenpelli). The artists belong to the Kunwinjku people, who refer to themselves as Bininj, meaning “people”. Their language, land and cultural practices remain connected to the rocky escarpments, waterways and swamps of their Country.
Respect, Privacy and Living with Country
According to cultural Mimih spirits are shy and gentle in nature. They hide within large rocks during the day, emerging only at night by opening small holes in the escarpments. They hunt, fish and hold ceremonies alongside their animal companions, including kangaroos, echidnas, crocodiles, turtles, fish, birds and butterflies, before returning to the rocks at dawn and closing their stone doors behind them.
Out of respect for the Mimih, Aboriginal people traditionally avoid the escarpments at night, recognising their request for privacy. The Mimih are believed to be generally calm, but are said to become upset if one of their animal companions is harmed, which is a good reminder of the care and respect owed to the living world.
A Living Presence in Our Learning Environment
Within our early learning environment, the Mimih artworks sit quietly yet powerfully. Children pause to look, notice, and begin to ask questions. Families pass by and linger, drawn into the stories held within the works.
These artworks support our commitment to honouring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures as living, ongoing and deeply relevant, enriching our shared understanding of respect, learning and connection to place.
A Gift of Trust and Remembrance
For our community, this is a lasting gift of remembrance. Through these artworks, Ilse Hansen’s memory lives on in everyday moments at St. Luke's... a child’s quiet observation, a conversation sparked in the hallway, a moment of stillness amid a busy day.
We are incredibly grateful for to the Hansen family for this gift. The Mimih artworks now form part of the story of St Luke’s Chapman, offering gentle teaching and reflection, and a reminder that learning should always be shared, carried and passed on across generations.
