Dibirdibi Country 2012

Sally Gabori made this painting, *Dibirdibi Country*, with a brush loaded with white paint against an indigo ground. What was it like to make this? I try to imagine the sweeping gesture of her arm across the canvas, each stroke a memory or feeling made visible. The paint is thick, sculptural almost, and each brushstroke alive. It is like the artist is wrestling with the essence of place and memory. The composition is anchored by three luminous shapes. The texture! The surface is alive with ridges and valleys of paint. Look at the way Gabori used the brush to drag the white across the dark canvas. How did she feel about the way the bristles dragged along the canvas? Gabori started painting late in life, yet she exploded onto the art scene with her vibrant depictions of her homeland. She's part of an ongoing conversation between artists, each stroke echoing and answering another across time. Painting is expression, like life, it embraces uncertainty.