Man's Love Story

Elongated wooden plank shapes arranged in earth tones dominate the composition, their rectangular forms interrupted by sweeping red curved lines set against a field of fine dotted patterning. The arrangement reads almost like a map, with the organic red shapes threading through the stiffer geometric blocks. This painting was made in 1997 using synthetic polymer paint on canvas and is held at the Art Gallery of South Australia. The artist, Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri (1932–2002), an Australian First Nation painter, is known for the notable work Warlugulong. One detail worth noticing is how the dotted background seems to vibrate behind the solid planks, giving the surface a sense of depth despite its flat application of paint.