Dibirdibi Country 2011

Editor: Sally Gabori’s "Dibirdibi Country," painted in 2011 using acrylics, strikes me with its bold blocks of color. The composition feels quite abstract, but somehow evokes a sense of landscape. How do you interpret this work? Curator: Immediately apparent is the interplay between the chromatic choices—the primary blue ground against the assertive reds and whites. Observe the impasto application; Gabori’s brushstrokes, rather than aiming for illusionism, call attention to the materiality of the paint itself. What effect does this directness have on your understanding? Editor: I suppose it emphasizes the flatness of the canvas. It’s not trying to trick us into seeing depth, is it? Curator: Precisely. Gabori disrupts traditional perspective, pushing the formal elements to the foreground. Consider the semiotic potential of these forms. While titled "Dibirdibi Country", these shapes do not conform to conventional representational landscape. It prompts consideration: what, then, constitutes a landscape if not mimetic depiction? Editor: It’s almost like the colors and shapes are the landscape, rather than representations of it. It makes you think about what you consider essential to the idea of "landscape". Curator: Precisely. Through its formal construction, the painting evokes deeper questions about the nature of perception and representation. Its refusal to yield to easy categorization makes it so compelling. Editor: I can see how the composition itself is a statement. I’ll definitely be looking at abstract art differently now.