Chief Simogyet Geel Walter Harris was born in the Gitxsan village of Kispiox near Hazelton in 1931. He has lived his entire life in his home territory balancing the responsibilities of chief, artist and instructor. He was included in the landmark exhibition The Legacy – Tradition and Innovation in Northwest Coast Indian Art curated by the Royal British Columbia Museum as a travelling exhibition and later a book and a permanent collection in the museum. His major commissions include: the carved folding doors (bentwood box style) for the entrance to the UBC Museum of Anthropology, a series of panels for the Royal Bank of Canada, and the reconstruction of the K’san village site with the addition of a museum, a collection of totem poles and the new Gitanmaax School of Northwest Coast Art.

The Creation of the Mosquito was printed during his time as chief carver at the Gitanmaax School of Northwest Coast Art in Hazelton, British Columbia – a position that he would hold for 13 years. He enrolled in the school as a student in 1969 with a background in carpentry and quickly transitioned into a skilled sculptor. The school had a mandate to teach both sculpture and design, and given that the students (and instructors) came from all Northwest Coast nations they needed to teach the building blocks of Formline design so that each student could adapt it to their own tribal styles. The K’san style was a unique visual language used by the instructors who were all major artists in their own right. They were often seen as an artist collective working on shared commissions, exhibitions and projects that highlighted the school and the K’san style. The Creation of the Mosquito is a definitive example of this style by one the major artists of the art form.