Mulga Plaque (Hunter and Dog) 1944

Albert Namatjira made this Mulga Plaque, probably with a sharp tool, by incising lines into a slice of wood. It’s a way of drawing that’s really direct, like scratching a thought right onto the surface. The wood itself is beautiful, with its own rings and textures – it’s already doing some of the work for the artist! Namatjira’s marks are simple, almost like a child’s drawing, but there’s a real sense of movement in the hunter and dog. Look at the way he suggests the landscape with just a few lines, those tiny dashes at the base of the image, which could be scrub or rocks. It reminds me a bit of cave paintings, that primal urge to depict the world around us. Namatjira was famous for his watercolour landscapes, so this is a totally different side of his art. It makes you think about how an artist can explore different ways of seeing, different ways of making, all within one lifetime. Art is so open, right?