Hairstring 2010

Makinti Napanangka made this painting, *Hairstring*, using acrylic on canvas, and she gets right to it. The orange stripes vibrate against the darkness in a way that’s almost unsettling. There’s this raw quality to how the paint’s applied, like each stroke is laid down with real intention but without fuss. You can see the texture, how thick the paint is in places, and the direction she moved her brush. It feels like a record of an action, of her hand moving across the canvas, one line at a time. See the little bits of string caught in the paint on the left? They add to the feeling of something made, not just imagined. The energy of this single area spreads out, informing how I read the whole piece. It’s not just a pattern; it’s a feeling, a rhythm. Like Agnes Martin, Napanangka’s work is about a deeply felt, pared down simplicity that speaks volumes. This is a conversation about seeing, about feeling, and about being present.