Loretta Lenoy
Bama Name: Birr Birr (parrot)
Born:
Lives: Mossman
Language Group: Kuku Yalanji
I grew up in the Daintree with my grandmother and went to Primary School there. I went to Mossman High and later to Griffith University to study art.
I paint hoping that one day my brothers, sisters and mother will see that I have always thought about them and have always searched for them in my heart. The stories I paint are OUR stories not just mine. When I paint I feel the family I lost long ago so strongly. My brothers, sisters and mother keep me warm in a world that I find so confusing. Through them I can feel my true blood.
Art is a way I can feel my heart – and I enjoy all media. I feel close to nature and spend much time sitting alone, appreciating nature and life. My dream in life is to know where I belong and to heal my heart. Money will never buy that! I worked at Yalanji Arts – Mossman Gorge from early 2012 until the end of 2013. During that time I took part in many workshops learning new skills in printmaking, ceramics, wood carving and textiles printing and jewellery.
My art work has been exhibited in the following shows:
- Cairns Indigenous Art Fair - 2012 (Cairns Cruise Terminal)
- Manjal Dimbi – Rainforest inspired works by Yalanji Artists of Mossman Gorge – 2013 (Canopy Art Space – Cairns)
- Works on Paper by Yalanji Artists of Mossman Gorge – 2013 (Mossman Gorge Centre)
- IACA ‘Kinship’ exhibition – 2013 (TANKS and James Cook University
