Yam Dreaming 1995

Emily Kame Kngwarreye made this painting, “Yam Dreaming,” and you can see how she’s laid down these lines of color, one after the other, in a totally intuitive way. It’s like watching someone think. I love how the dark ground peeks through the tangle of marks. The paint itself isn’t trying to hide anything; you can see how it’s dragged and layered. It’s not about perfection, but more about a kind of searching. Take a look at how some of the marks loop back on themselves, almost like a signature, or a little private code. You can almost feel the energy of her hand as she made each stroke. Thinking about other artists, I’m reminded of Agnes Martin. Both had this sense of the grid, but one that’s totally disrupted and felt, not measured. It’s a conversation across cultures, a dialogue about what it means to make a mark, to leave a trace of yourself on the world.