Blanket c. 20th century

This indigo-dyed cloth was made by Dogon artists, and it reminds me that painting is ancient. These stripes of blue-on-blue are so simple; it feels like they’ve always been there. Imagine the artist dipping the cloth into the dye, again and again, layering the color in a long, slow, repetitive process. Indigo is a colour with a deep history, evoking distances, feelings of melancholy, like looking into a night sky. The lines waver slightly, so the surface hums, pulses, and moves in ways that suggest how the simplest gestures can carry so much meaning. I bet the Dogon artists were in conversation with the weavers of other cultures – sharing techniques, motifs, and spiritual ideas. This act of creation becomes a kind of meditation. It’s like a dance between the maker, the material, and the world around them. We can bring our own stories and experiences to the work. It reminds us that art is never really finished but keeps evolving in our minds.