Untitled 

Editor: We're looking at an untitled acrylic on canvas piece by Makinti Napanangka. I’m really drawn to the ochre palette and the rhythmic patterns. It feels very earthy and somehow conveys a sense of hidden stories. What do you see in this piece? Curator: I see a cartography of memory. Look at how those concentric circles repeat – they're not just abstract forms; they're echoing the iconography of watering holes, sacred sites often depicted in Indigenous Australian art. The warm colours themselves – yellows, oranges, browns – speak to the land, baked by generations of stories. Do you feel that pull toward a narrative, even without explicit figures? Editor: Absolutely. The repetition almost feels like chanting, like a visual mantra. Are those meandering lines paths or songlines? Curator: Perhaps both! Paths on the land and pathways through the collective consciousness. These paintings are often records, coded maps that transmit knowledge and cultural memory. The symbolism is deeply embedded. Consider the energy of those swirly brushstrokes – life force itself made visible. What feelings do these lines evoke for you? Editor: A sense of movement, definitely. And resilience. Like even in the harshest environment, life persists, finds a way. I can see what you mean by "cultural memory"; it feels ancestral. Curator: Precisely! It is in remembering the land and culture, she preserves her stories in paint. Do you agree that this visual record is both highly individual and universally connective, a memory made material? Editor: I do! Seeing the symbols you pointed out has given me a richer appreciation of how much cultural weight is embedded within its apparent abstraction. It’s really powerful to consider how images like this can carry so much meaning across time. Curator: It enriches the dialogue we have when approaching Indigenous art. We have unlocked part of the archive by seeing the symbols and colours together as a testament to cultural stories.