Dibirdibi Country, 2007

synthetic polymer paint on canvas

121 x 91 cm

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Provenance: Mornington Island Arts & Crafts, Mornington Island, Qld, Cat No. 2619-L-SG-1007 Woolloongabba Art Gallery, Brisbane, Qld Private Collection NSW
Artwork story: This painting recalls Dibirdibi country, sacred to the Kaiadilt people of Bentinck Island, and particularly to Sally Gabori's late husband, Pat Gabori, whose totem was the Dibirdibi (Rock Cod). Sally's canvases are not literal topographies but emotive mappings of identity, kinship, and memory. Her painterly style - vigorous, layered, and saturated - translates personal and ancestral stories into powerful fields of colour. In this work the sweeping strokes evoke the tidal waters and reef systems where the rock cod swims, while anchoring her husband's presence in the currents of Country. Although she only began painting in her eighties, Sally Gabori quickly gained recognition for her intuitive abstraction and profound cultural specificity. Her works are now held in major collections worldwide.

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c.1924 – 2015

synthetic polymer paint on canvas

121 x 91 cm

Enquire for price

Provenance: Mornington Island Arts & Crafts, Mornington Island, Qld, Cat No. 2619-L-SG-1007 Woolloongabba Art Gallery, Brisbane, Qld Private Collection NSW
Artwork story: This painting recalls Dibirdibi country, sacred to the Kaiadilt people of Bentinck Island, and particularly to Sally Gabori's late husband, Pat Gabori, whose totem was the Dibirdibi (Rock Cod). Sally's canvases are not literal topographies but emotive mappings of identity, kinship, and memory. Her painterly style - vigorous, layered, and saturated - translates personal and ancestral stories into powerful fields of colour. In this work the sweeping strokes evoke the tidal waters and reef systems where the rock cod swims, while anchoring her husband's presence in the currents of Country. Although she only began painting in her eighties, Sally Gabori quickly gained recognition for her intuitive abstraction and profound cultural specificity. Her works are now held in major collections worldwide.