First Nations artist wins Geelong Contemporary Arts Prize

FAR North Queensland-based First Nations artist Naomi Hobson has been awarded the 2022 Geelong Contemporary Art Prize presented by Dimmocks Charitable Trust.

Hobson’s painting ‘Sand dunes on the coast’ was crowned the winner of the $30,000 acquisitive prize at a private ceremony at Geelong Gallery on Friday, boosting her artistic dreams and aspirations going forward.

Selection panelists Lisa Byrne, Director, McClelland Sculpture Park and Gallery, Kyla McFarlane, Senior Academic Programs Curator, Museums and Collections, University of Melbourne, and Senior Curator at Geelong Gallery,

Lisa Sullivan were drawn to the energy and structural complexity of the artists interpretation of the natural world.

The panel said that ‘Sand dunes on the coast’ was representative of the artists distinctive style, with vibrant multi-layered compositions being able to emerge from and convey a deep ancestral connection to the traditional lands of the Kaantju/Umpila people, where Hobson was born.

“The complexity of the composition reflects the rich diversity of this landscape from coast to wetlands to mountain ranges,” the panel said.

“The interconnectedness of the plants, animals and people that live harmoniously within it amid changing weather patterns.

“Hobson’s joyful and expressive work rendered in vivid colours includes a diverse array of mark making and powerfully depicts her connection to Country in her distinctive visual language.”

Upon submitting the work to the prize, Hobson stated that the work was inspired by her feelings towards the natural world.

She alluded to the light of the coast and the morning sun shimmering across the ocean and lagoons in her piece, providing soft angular contours of the western slopes that slowly descend to a sea of wetlands.

In reference to her piece she said ‘we are all one and we are grounded in nature’.

Hobson adds the award to an already stacked resume of previous awards and exhibition showcase honours.

The First Nations artist has been a winner and finalist in several prominent arts prizes since beginning to showcase her artistic prowess in 2008.

Hobson took out the Cairns Indigenous Arts Fair Photography Award in 2018 and was also a winner at the 39th Alice Prize in 2016.

She is also a previous Geelong Contemporary Arts Prize finalist (2016).

The Geelong Contemporary Arts Prize acknowledges the quality, contemporary relevance, and excellence of all other 27 finalists who entered the award.

The judges congratulated all finalists who were chosen from an Australian-wide field of over 400 entries.

Visitors can come and visit the prize until Sunday 11 September and can have their chance to vote in the People’s Choice Award.

To see Hobson’s piece ‘Sand dunes on the coast’ and the other 27 finalists artworks online, visit www.geelonggallery.org.au/whats-on/exhibitions/2022-geelong-contemporary-art-prize