Dibirdibi Country 2009

In *Dibirdibi Country*, the late Sally Gabori wields paint to map her homeland. It is a landscape not of mimetic representation but a deeply personal cartography. The stark black and white of Gabori’s rendering evokes a primal duality, reminiscent of ancient symbolic systems where dark and light represent fundamental forces. We may think of the Taoist yin and yang, or perhaps the Zoroastrian battle between light and darkness, echoes of which reverberate through centuries of alchemical and psychological symbolism. Here, the division of the canvas, by a vertical stretch of black which pierces through white, is less an opposition than an integrated whole. It's a dynamic interplay—a visual metaphor for the ever-shifting boundaries and enduring presence of 'country' that lies at the heart of Gabori’s vision. The bold, gestural strokes transcend mere depiction; they are the artist’s emotional and ancestral ties made palpable, engaging us on a deeply instinctual level. This landscape, rendered in monochrome, is thus not just seen, but felt.