Dibirdibi Country 2008

Sally Gabori painted Dibirdibi Country with what looks like acrylic on canvas, and I find myself wondering about the sequence of colours applied. The paint has a lovely, creamy quality. It's not trying to hide itself. You can almost feel the movement of her hand, the bristles of the brush, and the sheer physicality of the strokes. Look at the way the white paint sits on the canvas, thick and opaque, creating a sort of landscape in itself. Then, there's that stroke of yellow, cutting through, adding this jolt of energy. It’s like a little spark, isn’t it? Gabori’s painting calls to mind the work of Joan Mitchell, but with something else, a freshness, a joy that’s all her own. It reminds us that art is really a conversation across time and space and there’s no real end point, just new ways of seeing and feeling.