Kutuji Chair (Shield Chair)

"Tanya and Errol are a husband and wife carving team, living and working at Railway Bore, near Indulkana, Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands (APY Lands), South Australia. The couple form a strong artistic team, weaving together the making traditions of the tropics and the desert.

Tanya Singer (Yankunytjatjara Peoples) is Minyma Anangu, an Aboriginal woman who comes from a family of artists and makers. Tanya, her mother Sadie, her sisters Trisha and Priscilla and brothers Bernard and Brenton are punu (wood) carvers, Some of whom have worked for many years with Maruku Arts. Instructed in traditional carving by her grandmothers, aunts and mothers, Tanya brings her own flair and attention to detail to her work. She is a mother to three
daughters, sits on important boards and works as a translator.

Errol Evans (Yalanji Peoples) is originally from Djabugay and Western Yalanji Country in far north Queensland. He was trained by his grandfather Ron Reynolds as a teenager, spending his time carving during the holidays.

Together, this wife and husband team bring together the traditions and approaches of both the wet
tropics and the desert. Tanya, Errol, and her youngest daughter live together with Tanya’s Hungarian father in Railway Bore, where they work from an established family-run carving workshop. During the hot summer months, the family live in north Queensland, working alongside Errol’s family.

Trent Jansen is a designer and academic based in Thirroul, New South Wales. He has developed a unique style of design, known as Design Anthropology, which seeks to respond to, and work with imperfections of humanity and
the natural world. This process involves studying the history and culture of human societies and taking design inspiration from the rich stories of human life, culture, and heritage. The resulting works express human stories and qualities, rather than utilitarian objects focussed purely on function.

Objects and spaces designed by Trent Jansen and his studio team explore the unique identities of individuals, families, and communities, embodying engaging narratives that excite with their unique difference, or comfort with their familiarity. Every project developed under this model is designed to speak to its owner on an emotional
level, becoming an important artefact in the life of the owner and forging a long-standing, meaningful relationship with that individual, family, or organisation."