Hunting Ground at Dibirdibi 2005

Editor: This is "Hunting Ground at Dibirdibi," painted in 2005 by Sally Gabori. It's an acrylic on canvas, and I'm struck by the almost playful use of colour and shape. It's like a Mondrian painting after a day at the beach. What jumps out at you when you look at it? Curator: Oh, I love that description! To me, it sings of stories, layered deep within those seemingly simple geometric forms. Look at the vibrant, almost child-like application of colour; it's deceptively sophisticated, isn't it? Think of the place, Dibirdibi. To Gabori, this wasn’t just geography, it was memory, kinship, the very pulse of her identity after forced displacement from her homeland. Editor: Displacement? That completely changes my perspective. Curator: Indeed. Her paintings became an act of remembering, a reclamation of space and belonging. See how those divisions within the oval – they're almost map-like. What might those colours represent for her? Editor: Maybe different resources or family plots? I initially saw it as abstract, but now I see a personal connection, like a memory trying to be visualized. Curator: Exactly! It is like she's building a home, square by square. An attempt to return in colour to the landscape of the spirit. That is the journey of colour across cultural and cartographic landscapes, to offer a sense of location and identity. Editor: That's amazing. I saw bright shapes, and you saw a whole history and longing. Thank you. Curator: My pleasure, to go back to origins requires the courage to travel the depths of feeling.