Yam Dreaming (Red Dots) 1995

Emily Kame Kngwarreye made this Yam Dreaming (Red Dots) with a printmaking technique, probably in the 1990s. It's this really cool grid of red lines and dots, almost like a map of some kind. You can see the process in the rawness of the marks. The red itself is so earthy, it feels like the soil is speaking. The dots are uneven, some are darker, some lighter, and I can almost feel the artist's hand moving across the surface. They make the grid pulsate, like a living thing. Take the top left section for example. It almost reads like a rain cloud, heavy with drops about to burst. This work reminds me of Agnes Martin, not in the way it looks, but in the way it simplifies a feeling down to its core. But with Emily it's less about minimalism and more about this deep connection to the earth and the stories it holds. It shows how art can embrace so many layers of meaning, without ever giving you a single, easy answer.