Alcaston Gallery presents new paintings by exciting young Queensland artist Naomi Hobson in her first ever solo exhibition I am Yikan.

In this vibrant body of work, Naomi Hobson explores her personal connections to her traditional country that lie between the eastern slopes of the McIllwraith Range (south of Lockhart River) and its western slopes north of Coen in far-north Queensland.

Sometimes what you see blends smoothly and sometimes there are contrasting opposites. The country of my parents is joined, it is neighbouring country, my mother – Kaantju; pama kanichi (“on top people”) and my father Umpila; pama malngkanichi (“people of the sandbeaches”). In between this country are the mountains, what is called the McIlwraith Ranges on the east coast of Cape York Peninsula. On the top of the ranges grows a tree called the Hoop Pine, it is called Yikan, when I was born, my grandfather named me Yikan. This exhibition is a self-discovery for me, that’s why it is called “I am Yikan”.

(Naomi Hobson, 2013)

With her distinctive and contemporary view of her traditional land and culture, Naomi Hobson is a rising artistic talent, and her work has recently been acquired by the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra.

-Beverly Knight 2013

Image: © Naomi Hobson, Alcaston Gallery