Andrew Dubber     

Dick Frizzell’s Mickey to Tiki, Tu Meke (1997)

We shared an early Christmas morning with Kerryn, Haydn and the boys today. They came up from London yesterday for Jake’s family birthday party, stayed the night and the celebrations transitioned.

It was really cool to wake up on ‘Christmas morning’ with a couple of toddlers in the house, and over breakfast, we exchanged gifts. Unofficially, presents are competitive in this family – both giving and receiving. Whoever gives the best gift is the winner. Whoever gets the best gift – also the winner. This time, I think I won.

Kerryn and Haydn bought me a limited print of Dick Frizzell’s famous lithograph, Mickey to Tiki, Tu Meke.

Dick Frizzell is one of New Zealand’s most famous artists. His son, Otis designed my tattoo.

There were originally 50 prints of the Mickey to Tiki lithograph. Number 5 is in the Christchurch Art Gallery. The image is really famous and appears on t-shirts, postcards, posters and other merchandise. Last year, the gallery arranged with the artist to allow for 1000 prints of their copy to be made available for sale. At the artist’s suggestion, the pencil autograph and the 5/50 numbering on the bottom right of the picture remains on the 1000 prints.

So, in effect, there are a thousand and one 5/50 prints in existence – and I have one of those. Awesome Christmas present. It’s going to look great framed.

Incidentally, tu meke means ‘too much’ in the sense of ‘awesome’ and ‘far out’.

Tagged: Dick Frizzell, New Zealand, Tiki, Visual Arts