Yvonne Boag's Opening Address, Lockhart River ArtGang Exhibition at the Flinders University Art Museum

I would like to also thank you for coming to this opening. The ArtGang would appreciate your interest in their work.

Lockhart River Aboriginal Community is a small community of indigenous people living at the top of Cape York Peninsula in Queensland. To get there involves a two hour flight from Cairns in a small aeroplane.

Lockhart’s airport is a remnant from World War 2 and is surrounded by large ants’ nests. In 1968, the community moved to its present position from the coast to be near the airport. The community is cut off from any road access for five months of the year and thus the airport represents the major way in and out. Barges from Cairns, bring in fresh fruit and vegetables and other supplies weekly.

I first went to Lockhart in 1997 after receiving an invitation from the Community to help them get started in etching. This occurred after I had just returned from an exhibition of my work in Seoul. You can imagine that this change of scenery was quite dramatic for me – from a bustling world city to a community set in the centre of a wonderland of nature.

I saw a part of Australia I never imagined existed, as I always tend to spend time in the cities. The people and the environment had a very strong effect on me.

I was amazed at the visual language of the local artists. They were making contemporary art works based on their great knowledge of their environment and involving their own personal stories. The artists are very young, but visually mature. They came every day to make prints and were proficient as printmakers within a short time.

I returned to Lockhart in 1999, this time intending to spend more time making my own work. I created a series of paintings which have been exhibited around Australia and in Korea. These works were very influenced by working with the ArtGang. I was aware of their use of mapping their stories and delineating areas with hatch marks. These ideas were incorporated into my own work.

Initially the art centre worked on creating a collection of prints that could be sold to people passing through the community. Screen printing and etching were the main areas of focus. More recently, the artists, because of the demand for their work, have been creating paintings.

Rosella Namok makes work that tells the story ofd the relationships in her family. I the prints, circles represent members of her family. In the paintings, the lines made by her fingers are about travelling to meet relatives.

Fishing is an important part of Lockhart life and many of the artists depict fishing in their paintings. Samantha Hobson’s print on the cover of the catalogue, is a direct response to one of her fishing trips. Her recent large paintings which were shown in Brisbane are more about personal relationships and the violence that is sometimes experience in the community related to the consumption of alcohol.

Silas Hobson depicts, in great detail, the fish and other sea creatures he catches in his prints and paintings.

The ArtGang came about to offer vocational education to students in Lockhart River after they left secondary school. Fran and Jeff Barker, coordinators of the community art centre, were instrumental in setting up the centre. With community support, they built the presses and parts of the building supported. They have worked tirelessly in promoting the work of the ArtGang around Australia arranging one person and group exhibitions in every state encouraging the young artists to see they have a future as artists in the wider community.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Fran and Jeff for the help they have given me, as well as their efforts in supporting and promoting the ArtGang.

It is with pleasure that I hereby declare this exhibition open and invite you to experience this work from a remarkable group of young artists.