Netta Loogatha was born 1/07/1942 and is one of the senior artists of Mornington Island Arts, Mornington Island. She started painting at the same time as her late sister Sally Gabori in 2005. however Gabori's meteorite rise to art superstardom somewhat eclipsed the careers of her sisters, and many other artists of Mornington Island for some time.
Loogatha however has maintained a steady and committed painting practice and is still painting strongly and meaningfully and her work is regaining its previously strong
attention. In 2017 her original painted bags and dresses were the hit of the highly
acclaimed fashion parade at the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair, stopping the show as she
modelled them herself.
She describes her work and life:
"It's good to make artworks, learn from each other. We learned all about our country and story places from our old people. Now we are painting and drawing them so our
grandchildren will learn all about them. "Our Aunty Sally Gabori showed us the way, to
learn from her and follow in her footsteps. We have our own paintings and drawings now of our homelands and sacred places, where we were born, oyster reefs and waterholes or camping spots. I am happy to show other people my country and culture through my art. It brings a smile to my face when I finish an artwork and see a part of me on it."
"I was born on Bentinck Island at a place on the Northern side called Bilmee. We lived in humpies then - no clothes nothing at all. I learnt to hunt from an early age, how to fish and collect shellfish, how to gather foods from the bush. I was young when the Europeans came in 1946 to take us away from our home and forced us to live on Mornington Island in the dormitory in the mission there."
"My father was King Alfred, he had six wives. When he died, his brother Percy took over the family and took care of us. When I grew up I went to the mainland and worked as a housemaid like a lot of the young girls from the island. I enjoyed this time being young and having fun. I returned to Mornington and became strongly involved in Land Rights and my people's wish to return to our homeland. I was a grandmother by the time we returned to our homeland and I use to live there most of the year, only returning to Mornington for the wet season. Now I am getting too old to live there. I cry for an opportunity to set my foot on my homeland again. My artworks have become even more important to me to keep my memories of my home and culture ever strong."
