A Beautiful New Ceramics Collection By Robert Gordon + The Juluwarlu Art Group

Robert Gordon have collaborated with Yindjibarndi collective, Juluwarlu Art Group for a new range of ceramics!

The teams decided to feature Yindjibarndi artist Nana Jane Cheedy’s works in the collection.

Robert Gordon x Juluwarlu Teardrop Bowl in Black.

Robert Gordon x Juluwarlu Gatherers Bowl in Sage.

Robert Gordon x Juluwarlu Gatherers Bowl in Black. Robert Gordon x Juluwarlu Pouring Vessel in Sage. Robert Gordon x Juluwarlu Teardrop Bowl in Tan.

‘We collaborated during the entire process – on colours, designs, packaging and shapes,’ Robert Gordon’s Kate Gordon says. Robert Gordon x Juluwarlu Narrow Tray in Black. Robert Gordon x Juluwarlu Narrow Tray in Tan.

Pieces like the Robert Gordon x Juluwarlu Footed Tray in Tan showcase stories of flora and fauna.

Rather than just creating a flat decal of Nana Jane Cheedy’s work, the artworks were translated onto ceramics using a sand blasting technique!

Artist Nana Jane Cheedy stands with the Robert Gordon x Juluwarlu Teardrop Bowl in Black. Photo – Courtesy Juluwarlu Art Group

‘When I see [the ceramics], I feel proud and uplifted,’ Nana Jane Cheedy says. Photo – Courtesy Juluwarlu Art Group

Together, the teams at Robert Gordon and the Juluwarlu Art Group chose the colours for the collection, which were inspired from Ngurraar (Country). Photo – Courtesy Juluwarlu Art Group

Earthy tones of sage, misty black and a dusty tan. Photo – Courtesy Juluwarlu Art Group

‘My family are also very proud and its fantastic to celebrate our Yindjibarndi culture with the rest of Australia [through the collection]. It makes our whole community empowered and it feels good to share through art.’ Photo – Courtesy Juluwarlu Art Group

Juluwarlu Art Group is part of the Juluwarlu Group Aboriginal Corporation – an Aboriginal owned and governed collective dedicated to maintaining, preserving, recording and promoting 50,000 years of history. Photo – Courtesy Juluwarlu Art Group

The collaboration between Robert Gordon and Juluwarlu Art Group (who are based in the north-western part of Western Australia’s Pilbara region) has been years in the making.

Robert Gordon creative director Kate Gordon says the Yindjibarndi artist collective first reached out to the brand back in 2021. Since then, the two teams have been working together behind the scenes on a collection filled with stories of Country and culture that was ‘born some 50,000 years ago’!

The resulting range features artworks by Nana Jane Cheedy that are equal parts beautiful and educational. She’s a linguist, teacher and artist, who was chosen to represent the 35 artists from the Juluwarlu Art Group, under the guidance of CEO and Elder Lorraine Coppin.

‘As an artist, I especially like to do original artworks about the thaarga ngarli (foods) and jarmi (bush medicines) that are found on Yindjibarndi Country,’ Nana Jane Cheedy says. ‘By drawing the plants and the animals, I can talk about how our old people traditionally used them and teach the young people how to continue to use them.’

In order to reflect the textures of the original yarranga marni boards she created – by scratching and carving onto layers of plaster and gesso – Robert Gordon utilised an ‘industrial sand blasting technique’ usually reserved for logo printing. It meant tracings had to be made of each drawing, before the machine could translate it into etchings on the ceramics, but Kate says it’s helped the pieces feel more ‘alive’.

‘[The collection] is a blend of the ancient with the modern to create a wonderfully tactile range of ceramics that is true to the original drawings,’ she adds.

The beautiful range also channels the artworks in more ways than one, with the team matching stoneware’s earthy colours to photos of the native grasses on Country! They even used outlines of Nana Jane Cheedy’s drawings to design the organic shapes, while another dish was created after hearing how the group liked to make their damper with a big bowl that could ‘sit comfortably in the crook of your arm’.

‘We all learn about the culture of the Yindjibarndi people, their flora and fauna, their food, the colours of the land, when we look at Nanna Jane’s work,’ Kate says.

Shop the Robert Gordon x Juluwarlu collection exclusively through Myer.