Tarkul 1999

Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri made this painting, Tarkul, with acrylic on canvas using a limited palette of whites and reddish-browns. I can imagine him sitting on the floor, maybe outside, putting the painting down and building it up, one mark at a time. It's interesting how a few simple forms – circles, triangles, dots and lines – can create such a complex sense of space. The lines wiggle a bit, like in a Peter Doig painting, so the circles don't feel mechanical. You can almost feel the artist's hand and his breath. There is a lot of visual vibration. It must have taken so much concentration and time. I wonder, what was he thinking while he made it? Did his mind wander or was he in a trance? Maybe the act of painting helped him feel connected to his country, to the stories he was telling through these symbols. It reminds me that painting can be a meditation, a way of mapping one's world, both inner and outer.