Bush Hen Dreaming 1998

Abie Loy Kemarre made this painting, Bush Hen Dreaming, using an intricate dotting technique. It's not just decoration; it's like each dot holds a tiny piece of the story. The surface is alive with texture. Up close, you see how the varying densities of dots create depth, like looking into a field of stars, or, I guess, a bird's-eye view of the Australian outback. There’s this one section where the dots coalesce into a circular form, like the hub of a wheel – it reminds me of the way artists like Hilma af Klint used circular motifs to symbolize wholeness, or some kind of cosmic unity. This painting speaks to the interconnectedness of things, a conversation between the personal and the universal, the earthly and the ethereal. It's a reminder that art, at its best, embraces ambiguity, inviting us to see the world in new and unexpected ways.