Untitled 2006

This untitled work was made by Doreen Reid Nakamarra, though it's not dated, it gives a sense of enduring time. The image is split into three sections, lines crawl across its surface, in dark strokes over a lighter ground, like rain on earth. Looking closely, the paint seems almost dry, matte, the texture of raw canvas coming through. The lines are not perfectly straight, they wiggle and waver, evidence of the artist's hand. There is a feeling that Nakamarra wasn’t trying to hide or erase the process. Rather, she let the work happen, like life unfolding. The central panel is like a deeper meditation. The colour darkens, heightens the contrast between line and ground. It reminds me of the work of Agnes Martin, another artist with a strong relationship to landscape, and a deep understanding of the subtle power of repetition and restraint. Nakamarra's piece is a quiet testament to the many ways of seeing and being.