For visitors to the Bendigo Art Gallery, a striking addition to the current display is the gallery’s very latest acquisition, Nyikyilki, a major work by Sally Gabori (Mirdidingkingathi Juwarnda), one of the leading contemporary Australian artists of the last decade.
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Purchased with funds donated to the gallery through the gift of Grace and Alec Craig, of Bendigo, this work is a significant addition to the permanent collection.
Born in Australia in 1924, Gabori was a senior Kaiadilt woman artist from Bentinck Island in Queensland’s Gulf of Carpentaria.
Gabori’s artistic career only began in 2005, and at this time she took the art world by storm.
While her works could be recognised as abstraction, the works actually depict land and seascapes.
- Leanne Fitzgibbon
Her immediate love of paint and the full spectrum of colour triggered an outpouring of ideas, including depicting her country and her ancestral stories.
While her works could be recognised as abstraction, the works actually depict land and seascapes.
Executed in 2011, Nyikyilki is an excellent example of the artist’s fascination with colour, which is as significant as the content itself.
Reflecting upon this work, the country, colour and mind’s eye combine to impart to the viewer a real and intimate sense of the artist and where she is from.
Most of Gabori’s works represent locations on Bentinck Island of personal significance to the artist: her husband’s place, Dibirdibi Country, her father’s place, Thundi, her own country, Mirdidingki, and the first outstation, Nyinyilki.
While her work features in numerous important collections and major institutions within Australia, Gabori also made her mark internationally, with her works exhibited in New Zealand, the United Kingdom, USA, Korea, the Netherlands and Italy.
In 2013, Gabori was invited to exhibit in Personal Structures as part of the 55th Venice Biennale.
Held at Palazzo Bembo, this exhibition was part of an international art project, and included artists Dale Frank, Sam Jinks, Yoko Ono, Per Hess, Ben Vautier and Yang Fan.
In 2014, Gabori was awarded a successful commission to be part of the new Brisbane International Airport terminal upgrade, a significant accolade and tribute for the artist and her Kaiadilt family. Passing away in 2015, Gabori has left behind a tremendous legacy that will be remembered for many years to come.
The gallery is extremely grateful to the private donations and bequests that enable the acquisition of this and other significant artworks for this public collection.
