Panel c. 20th century

This drawing on a panel, by an unknown Pygmy artist, looks like it was made with such incredible, careful observation and repetition. The material itself is part of the story here. The way it’s folded and worn is so tender, it brings to mind the work of someone like Agnes Martin. I imagine the lines were made with a very fine tool, or perhaps a series of very small gestures, like stitches. You can almost feel the artist’s hand moving across the surface, mapping out this grid. There's a sort of radiating mark in the lower center, that looks like a seed opening, or a mouth. Maybe the lines are boundaries, or pathways, or fields. It reminds me that art embraces ambiguity, and how seeing is an ongoing process. It's like a conversation that never really ends.