Explore Sally Gabori’s world

The world of the late Bentinck Island artist and senior Kaiadilt woman Mirdidingkingathi Juwarnda Sally Gabori (b.c.1924-2015) is explored in our interactive ‘Dulka Warngiid – Land of All’. Visit Sally Gabori’s world to understand her deep connection to Country and her home, Bentinck Island which is revealed through her art in vibrant colour, bold forms and…

Gain an insight into Sally Gabori’s painting technique

Mirdidingkingathi Juwarnda Sally Gabori’s instinct for colour and composition approaches abstraction while conveying a deep connection to her important places and family. This is the tabletop on which Sally Gabori painted many of her smaller works. Her large-scale works were painted against the eastern wall of the art centre on Mornington Island, facing toward her…

Sally Gabori paints her grandfather’s country

Like so many great artists Mirdidingkingathi Juwarnda Sally Gabori — senior Kaiadilt artist from Bentinck Island in Queensland’s Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia — excelled at painting the world she knew, here she introduces you to her grandfather’s country. ‘Dingkari is an outside hunting ground to the south of Bentinck Island. It has a shallow reef…

Why is an outstation on Bentinck Island important to Sally Gabori?

Nyinyilki sits on the south-eastern coast of Bentinck Island and is home to a large permanent freshwater lagoon. Following the Kaiadilt Land Rights battles, an outstation was established there and is often referred to as ‘Main Base’ or ‘Main Camp’. Mirdidingkingathi Juwarnda Sally Gabori and the group of senior women whom she lived and worked…

Sally Gabori paints her father’s country

Mirdidingkingathi Juwarnda Sally Gabori’s depictions of her homeland are abstract in nature, but retain representational elements which map traditional country and cultural identity in monumental paintings. Thundi (or Thunduyi) is her father’s Country, adjacent to a river near the island’s northern tip, which runs parallel to a ridge of tall sandhills that skirt its north-eastern…

Judy Watson to create public artwork for GOMA entry

This morning, it was my pleasure to be joined at the Galley of Modern Art (GOMA) by Leeanne Enoch, Queensland’s Minister for Innovation, Science and the Digital Economy and Minister for Small Business, for the announcement that Queensland artist Judy Watson has been selected to realise a major public artwork at the building’s entrance. The…