Tjanpi basket, Tjawina Porter, Tjukurla (25-26cm)

• Artist - Tjawina Porter
• Community - Tjukurla
• Art Centre/Community organisation - Tjanpi Desert Weavers
• Catalogue number - 1659/14
• Materials - Woven Basket, Grass, raffia and emu feathers (no export)
• Size(cm) - Diameter 25-26cm, Height 5-6cm

Tjanpi (meaning ‘dry grass’) evolved from a series of basket weaving workshops held on remote communities in the Western Desert by the Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunyjatjara Womens’ Council in 1995. Building on traditons of using fibre for medicinal, ceremonial and daily purposes, women took easily to making coiled baskets. These new-found skills were shared with relations on neighboring communities and weaving quickly spread. Today there are over 400 women across 28 communities making baskets and sculptures out of grass and working with fibre in this way is firmly embedded in Western and Central Desert culture. While out collectng desert grasses for their fibre art women visit sacred sites and traditional homelands, hunt and gather food for their families and teach their children about country. Tjanpi Desert Weavers is Aboriginal owned and is directed by an Aboriginal executive. It is an arts business but also a social enterprise that provides numerous social and cultural benefits and services to weavers and their families. Tjanpi’s philosophy is to keep culture strong, maintain links with country and provide meaningful employment to the keepers and teachers of the desert weaving business.

Tjawina Porter was born in 1930. She grew up in the desert near Yumara where she lived the tradional nomadic lifestyle with her family. Aer the death of her father, her family moved to the newly established government selement of Papunya. She now lives in Tjukurla, a remote indigenous community in the Western Desert of Australia which is close to her birth place. Tjawina is part of a strong group of Tjukurla weavers who have produced consistently excellent work since 1996Tjawina is also a skilled punu (wood) carver, as well as an exceponal painter.
When interview about her baskets Tjawina says
"It is a rockhole. Tjukurla, kapi tjarra. But it is also a karnilypa, which is the kind of wooden digging dish we always used to use to dig holes in the ground or scoop out water from the rockholes. So I make karnilylpa oen. They are like coolamons. We scoop water out and drink water from a karnilypa. We also dig for food with one, and we also gather and winnow seeds in them. These are just like karnilypa, which we gather ngutjarnu seeds in, as a delicious seed food, to eat. Ngutjarnu and wangurnu. These are key foods for us. But this can also be a waterhole, with water in it. It can be anything you want it to be. Yuwa. When I see my baskets, I always think back to my tradional life and our tools and waterholes, and when I think about these things I am inspired to make more baskets. If I were making this out of wood, I would carve it out of the trunk of a river red gum, itara."
Tjawina Porter 2014

Made from a combination of native desert grasses, seeds and feathers, commercially bought raffia (sometimes dyed with native plants), string and wool, Tjanpi artworks are unique, innovative and constantly evolving. Some baskets and sculptures contain raffia which is purchased in Australia, imported from Madagascar. Natural hanks of raffia can sometimes be dyed with commercial dyes and less often with natural dyes. Most popular grass used in artworks is Minarri (greybeard grass, Amphipogon caricirus)

We realise that it's not always easy buying artworks sight unseen but we are so confident that you're going to absolutely love them when they turn up that if for any reason you change your mind or you're not feeling the feng shui you can return them within 14 days for a full refund.

We happily provide free registered post on all of our paintings within Australia and $30 for international postage. A $15 premium is applicable for the safe packing and postage of our 3D items.