Find Lots

• Auction House:
  Bonhams Australia
• Sale Name:
  Selected works from the collection of Bill Nuttall and Annette Reeves
• Sale Date:
  07 Jul 2020 ~ 6pm (AEST)
• Lot #:
  4
• Lot Description:
  Mirdidingkingathi Juwarnda Sally Gabori
  (circa 1924-2015)
  Makarrki, 2008
  synthetic polymer paint on linen
  198.0 x 101.0cm (77 15/16 x 39 3/4in).
  inscribed verso: 'Artist: Sally Gabori / Title: Makarrki / Cat No: 3154-1-L-SG-0508 / Medium: synthetic polymer paint on linen'
  This painting is sold with accompanying documentation from Mornington Island Arts and Crafts.
• Provenance:
  Mornington Island Arts and Crafts, Queensland; Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne (label attached verso); The Bill Nuttall & Annette Reeves Collection, Melbourne
• Notes:
  'Makarrki is the country of Gabori's brother, the great Kaiadilt leader Makarrkingathi Dingkaringathi Thuwathu King Alfred. He was the leader of Gabori's clan in the years prior to their relocation and was revered as the greatest hunter and warrior of the Kaiadilt, his exploits earning him many wives. Gabori developed a relationship with a rival warrior, Kabarrarjingathi Bulthuku Pat Gabori, which King Alfred forbade. In 1947, during a period of prolonged drought that caused incredible friction within Kaiadilt society, the two families found themselves at war. Pat Gabori led a night raid on the camp of King Alfred – who had earlier raided Pat's camp, killing his brother – and took King Alfred's life. Sally Gabori then became the last of Pat's five wives. King Alfred was born at Makarrki, at the head of the Makarrki River, one of two large rivers on Bentinck Island. During the wet season the Makarrki River in the north and the Kombali River in the south join to form a huge body of water that cleaves the island in two. During the dry season the rivers retreat but an expansive, arid salt and clay pan remains. Makarrki is also a favourite fishing and hunting ground on the northern side of Bentinck Island, where mud and sand flats stretch for kilometres towards the sea during low tide. As King Alfred was born at Makarrki his Kaiadilt birth name became Makarrkingathi, meaning 'born at Makarrki'. People and places are inseparably linked by the suffix 'ngathi', meaning 'born at', and when Gabori painted about places, including Makarrki, she was painting about the family links that tie her to those locations. In many cases her paintings, although often named after places, are portraits of the people who belonged there. Although Gabori's paintings of her homeland are abstract, elements of their composition speak to the textures of her homeland. Her paintings of Makarrki often relate to the flow of the river, the topography of the islands within the river, the tidal sand flats and offshore sand bars, camping and dugong-hunting areas, the rippled sand at the river mouth, fringes of stilted mangroves and rock-walled fish traps.' Bruce Maclean in Artist's Profile on the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney website: https://www.mca.com.au/artists-works/artists/sally-gabori/ (accessed 24 April 2019)
• Estimate:
  A$10,000 - 15,000
• Realised Price:
  *****
  

  Can't see the realised price? Upgrade your subscription now!

• Category:
  Art

This Sale has been held and this item is no longer available. Details are provided for information purposes only.