Naomi Hobson

Naomi Hobson is one of the leading Aboriginal artists of the current generation. She works across painting, photography and ceramics. 

Of Southern Kaantju heritage, she lives in the remote community of Coen, Cape York, Far North Queensland, where her grandfather was born. Coen is a tiny township of some 300 people at the end of the McIlwraith Ranges, on the east coast of the Cape York Peninsula, set in a terrain of rainforest, open wooded country and abundant river systems. Since European settlement the Aboriginal peoples of this area have maintained a connection to their country often through working on pastoral properties. 

Hobson’s multi-disciplinary oeuvre is principally concerned with documenting this land, and the life and culture of her community, in its navigation of traditional norms and modern modes. 

Hobson is the recipient of numerous awards and accolades. Her work has been acquired by major public institutions including the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra; the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne; the Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide; Queensland Art Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane; and the Cairns Art Gallery, Cairns City. She has exhibited internationally, with solo exhibitions at the Horniman Museum and the V&A in London. In 2023 she was the recipient of a major tapestry commission produced with the Australian Tapestry Workshop for the Australian Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia. In 2025 her work was showcased at the Grand Palais in Paris, as part of Art Paris.