In 2012, Woven image acquired three of the iconic Minnie Pwerle’s paintings and adapted these designs into an exclusive textile collection. Today, they have announced the release of an additional seven colours into the Ritual Collection family.

Woven Image is certainly no stranger to collaboration – in fact one could argue that they are the most collaborative design house in Australia and the Asia Pacific region.

Having worked directly with the Dacou Aboriginal Gallery (who represent the late Mininie Pwerle estate, for those of you playing at home) Woven Image continues to prove that design can in fact be art and vice versa.

This is a topic that has been hotly debated over the last few years, where many designers struggle to find a successful medium between the two. Art has an emotional context, where as design aim to solve problems or provide information. This is where the Ritual Collection – and its seven new colours – is remarkably effective.

This contemporary interpretation of Minnie’s artwork represents a series of Minnie’s paintings with a design theme of free-flowing and parallel lines in a pendulous outline, depicting the body painting designs used in women’s ceremonies, or “awelye”.

Minnie Pwerle’s unique bold organic style has been captured in the use of free form motifs that undulate across the fabric in strong contrasting colours. Ritual upholstery mimics the textured effect of Minnie’s painted brush strokes by utilising a screen print process where pigment ink is heat-set onto the surface of the fabric. The natural organic quality of the base fabric combined with the pigment print provides a hand-made look whilst maintaining a commercially performing textile, ideal as a feature for occasional seating, lounges and cushions.

The seven additions to Ritual represent the immense value of pairing art with design – where meaningful cultural experiences can be appreciated by the user through art, alongside the clear and cut design emphasis on functionality. In this case, Woven Image continue to champion the task of bringing art and design together, and represent why the design industry should value art.

For more information on the new Ritual Collection, visit Woven Image