Leah Leaman Yinpingali Namitja

Leah Leaman Yinpingali Namitja is a Malngin / Gurindji artist who takes a pivotal role in many Karungkarni projects including two recent culture/language/art/science projects, Tamarra: A Story of termites on Gurindji Country and the Electro-Magnetic perception in Gurindji People (in collaboration with Prof Felicity Meakins of UQ and Prof Joe Kirschvink and researchers from Caltech in Los Angeles).

Leah was born in Old Darwin Hospital in 1971. Her maternal grandfather’s country is Jutamaliny on Limbunya Station, and it is from here that she gets her totem, tikirrija, the red-backed kingfisher.  Leah is currently employed by the NT Government Department of Families. Previously, she worked for Katherine West Health Board as receptionist; at Kalkaringi School; and as a Gurindji Ranger. Leah has served on several Indigenous boards including Karungkarni Art and Culture, Gurindji Aboriginal Corporation, and Aboriginal Benefit Account. Leah’s hobbies include fishing in the local rivers, billabongs and waterholes, with her paintings revealing her love of freshwater, fish and brolga as subject matter. Leah blends traditional stories within a contemporary format.

Leah’s artwork has featured in several events and exhibitions including the annual exhibition at Charles Darwin University ACIKE Unit commemorating the Vincent Lingiari Memorial Lecture (2015-2018), Tarnanthi, and the annual Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair. Her artwork, Women Collecting Flowers and Bushfood, is toured Australia as part of the exhibition, Still In My Mind: Gurindji location, experience and visuality, curated by Brenda L. Croft.