Date of birth : c 1927 Language : Liyagalawumirr Clan : Birritjama Social Affiliations : Dhuwa moiety, Gamanydjan subsection

 Interview with Namiyal, 1992 "I was born ay Djilingirrimirr near Yathalamarra. Alot of Yolngu camped there; the Mission [at Milingimbi] was only small. My father Alex Gingadam and mother used to camp there. My father died in Milingimbi after the Second World War. My mother died here in Ramingining, [in the early 1980's]."
Namiyal usually paints about her homeland, the place called Gurruwana, and she also paints the surrounding environments [Hutchinson Strait area]. She started weaving at Galiwin'ku, Elcho Island, when living with her first husband, and sold her weavings to Rev. Sheperdson. When Namiyal went back to Milingimbi she sold her weavings to Alan Fidock who was an Arts & Crafts worker and a teacher; that was in the mid to late 1960's. Namiyal learned to paint through assisting her second husband, Djikululu with his works after he suffered a stroke. Her style has developed from this influence and and at times the work of either painter is quite indiscernible. Namiyal was elected to the Bulabula Arts executive Council in 1992. She is the sister of Dick Yambal 1.

Namiyal began to paint a few years ago after her second husband had a stroke and needed a hand with his paintings. From this initial introduction, Namiyal paints in a similar loose and free flowing style to Djikululu.

Namiyal's quirky animals  are filled with life. They often appear to be running across the bark, their eyes on the viewer as if looking behind at a pursuer. Her images are largely drawn from elements of the Wagilak Sisters creation story; her itchy caterpillars, bush foods and snakes are all elements of this story. Her country, Gurruwana, is often painted in the minimalist sacred rocks design, or occasionally more pictorial elements of the story may be depicted. Among her favorite subjects are also Wayanaka, oyster beds, features of her rocky salt-water country east of Ramingining.

Ever the artist-cum-hunter-gatherer, some of Namiyal's works are rendered on ply-board, rummaged from building sites.  During the  dry months of May to October the sap in the trees 'dries up' making the collection of bark impossible. The 'dry' however, provides ideal building conditions and as contractors moved from site to site, Namiyal and her daughters were quick to seize any off cuts, facilitating  continued artistic expression during the bark 'off season'. All Namiyals' works   are painted with natural ochres, gathered and traded with family and friends from around  the Ramingining region.

Namiyal lives in Ramingining and spends most of her time with her two eldest daughters and their young babies.

Individual Exhibitions:
1991, Namiyal Bopirri, Vivien Anderson Gallery, Melbourne
1993, Namiyal Bopirri, Australian Girls Own Gallery, (aGOG), Canberra
2002, Namiyal Bopirri, Helen Maxwell Gallery, Braddon, ACT
2003, Namiyal Bopirri, Karen Brown Gallery, Darwin
2004, Guruwana: Paintings by Namiyal Bopirri, Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute, Adelaide
2005, Namiyal Bopirri: First Melbourne Solo Show (sic), Indigenart, Carlton, Victoria
2006, Guruwana: An Exhibition of paintings on canvas and bark, dupun and weavings from Namiyal Bopirri, Indigenart, Perth
2006, Namiyal Bopirri Bark Paintings, Birrung Gallery, Sydney

Select Group Exhibitions:
1984, Buyu-Ramingining Weaving, Crafts Council, NT
1989, Ramingining, Gamununggu Miyalk, women painters, Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs
1993, Yananda New Moon, Ivan Docherty Gallery, Sydney
1993, Namiyal Bopirri, Naminapu White, Australian Girls Own Gallery, (aGOG) Canberra
1994, Buyu Djama, Pandanus Weaving from Arnhem Land, Adelaide Fringe Festival, National Trust of South Australia
1994, Canvassing, 24 Hour Art, Darwin, NT
1994, Ramingining Weaving, Christine Abrahams Gallery, Richmond, Victoria
1994, Power of the Land, Masterpieces of Aboriginal Art, National Gallery of Victoria
1996, Bula’bula Arts, Ramingining, Anima Gallery, Adelaide
1996, A Selection of Prints, Drawings, Paintings and Carvings, aGOG, Canberra
1997, Ramingining Artists, Michel Sourgnes Gallery, Brisbane
1997, The Painters of the Wagilag Sisters Story 1937-1997, National Gallery, Canberra
1998, My Land, My Country, Michel Sourgnes Gallery, Brisbane
1998, New World Art Gallery, Hattem, The Netherlands
1998, Dreamings, Vlaams-Europeesch Conferentiecentrum, Brussels, Belgium
1999, Ramingining Artists Show, High on Art, Melbourne
1999, Under Southern Skies: Aboriginal and Western Perspectives of the Australian Night Sky, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, USA
1999, Geelong Print Prize, Geelong Art Gallery
2000, Ramingining Artists, Coo-ee Gallery, Sydney
2000, Fiona’s Choice Cuts, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, USA
2000, Yolngu Science: Objects and Representations from Ramingining, MCA, Sydney
2000, Ramingining, Bula'bula, Robert Steele Gallery, New York, USA
2001, The Native Born: Objects and Representations from Ramingining, Sprengel Museum, Hannover
2002, Ramingining, Arte aborigen australiano de la Tierra de Arnhem, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid
2002, The Native Born: Objects and Representations from Ramingining, Palacio de Velazquez, Parque del Retiro, Madrid
2002, Water Country, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, USA
2002, A Taste of Aboriginal Art, Robert Steele Gallery, New York, USA
2003, Out of the Dilly Bag, Bright!, St Kilda, Victoria
2003, Guridji Djama, Thornquest Gallery, Southport
2003, Forms in Fibre, William Mora Galleries, Melbourne
2003, The Native Born: Contemporary Aboriginal Art from Ramingining, Australia, Asia Society Museum, New York, USA
2003, Bula’bula Arts at the Virginia Fringe Film Festival, Virginia, USA
2003, The Native Born: Contemporary Aboriginal Art from Ramingining, Australia, Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Taipei, Taiwan
2004, Buyu: Weaving from Ramingining, Budds Beach Gallery, Surfers Paradise
2004, Artists from Ramingining, Framed Gallery, Darwin
2004, Dupun, Djalumbu, Badurru-Hollow Logs from Ramingining, Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne
2004, Ramingining Rom: Paintings and Objects from Bulabula Arts Aboriginal Corporation, Central Arnhem Land, Fremantle Arts Centre, Western Australia
2004, Bulabula Artists Mala, Bandigan Arts, Sydney
2004, Milan Craft Fair: L’artigiano in Fierra, Italy
2005, Yaku Yindi: Big Names from Ramingining, Hogarth Galleries, Sydney
2005, Pandanus to Paper, Northern Editions, Charles Darwin University, Darwin
2005, Guruwana: Paintings by Namiyal Bopirri, Indigenart, Melbourne
2005, Pandanus to Paper: weavings and prints from Bula’bula Arts, Northern Editions, Charles Darwin University, Darwin
2006, Australian Aboriginal Art, Robert Steele Gallery, New York, USA   
2006, L’Espirit de la Terre d’Arnhem Art Aborigene du Nord de L’Australie: La Collection d’Arnaud Serval, Passage de Retz, Paris
2006, Ramingining, Bett Gallery, Hobart, Tasmania
2006, Gunga Dhawu (Pandanus story), Territory Craft, Darwin
2007, Bula'bula Arts: The Next Generation, Australia Dreaming Art, Melbourne
2007, Bark Paintings from Bula'bula Arts, Ramingining, Hogarth Galleries, Sydney
2007, Dupun, Bett Gallery, Hobart, Tasmania
2007, Palya Art In Melbourne, (Helen Read), Kew, Vic

Publications:
Bulabula Arts, 1993, Namiyal Bopirri, exhib. cat. for solo aGOG exhibition.
Caruana, Wally and Lendon Nigel, 1997, The Painters of the Wagilag Sisters Story 1937-1997, National Gallery of Australia.
Hanby, L., 1993, 'Buyu Djama,' Periphery 17, 22-23.
Kleinert, Sylvia & Neale, Margo, 2000, The Oxford Companion to Aboriginal Art and Culture, Oxford University Press, Australia
Mundine, Djon, 2001, The Native Born: Objects and Representations from Ramingining, Arnhem Land, MCA & Bula’bula Arts

Commissions:
1989/90, John Kluge, Painting Their Land Commission, USA
1993, Artists Fellowship Grant from Australia Council.
1993, Arthouse Flowers Art Prize, first place, Cooma, NSW

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