Kaakaratintja 1996

Makinti Napanangka made Kaakaratintja with a brush and colourful paints, creating a canvas that seems to buzz with energy. There’s a kind of openness here, a directness in the marks. The paint isn’t trying to trick you into thinking it’s anything other than itself. Look closely at those circles; they’re not perfect. There’s a wobble to them, a handmade quality that’s so appealing. The blue and red rings layered on top of a ground of splattered whites and yellows make me think of a landscape viewed from above, but it remains abstract enough to suggest all sorts of things. It’s like Napanangka is letting us in on the secret that painting is as much about the doing as it is about the seeing. This piece puts me in mind of Hilma af Klint, another painter who was working with abstraction and mystical ideas. Both invite us to get lost in the rhythm and energy of their unique visual language. Ultimately, it’s a reminder that art is a conversation, an ongoing exchange of ideas and feelings across time.