Mbuti Barkcloth Panel, Democratic Republic of Congo

Improvised, rhythmic, and painted freehand. Mbuti cloth starts as inner bark, soaked and beaten thin, then painted with natural pigments, a role traditionally taken by women.

This panel was painted in the Ituri Forest of the Democratic Republic of Congo in the 20th century. On a cream ground two and a half feet tall, bold gray-black outlines trace curving bands, hatched blocks, spirals and long diagonal bars that overlap and interlock across the surface. A horizontal crease marks an old fold, and the edges remain irregular.

It reads like a modern drawing. The forest got there first.