Resin and Charred Timber - Diameter approximately 145mm
Maximum height approximately 400mm

Yakka was launched as part of Melbourne Design week 2018.

Each Yakka vessel blurs the line between art and design. The vessels are functional but are sculptural one-off pieces, with limited edition pieces to become available in the future.

The Yakka Story
Drawing on Kawabata’s childhood memories of the Australian bush, Yakka is named for the endemic xanthorrhoea – commonly known as yakka or grass tree.

This decorative collection of vessels mimic the playfulness of the plant’s distinctive form along with the vivid colours of regrowth generated by bush fire.

While the vessel’s charred timber bases are uniform, each sprouting, knobbly top is idiosyncratic and unique, a lushly sensual reminder of xanthorrhoea’s transcendent response to the trauma of fire and its resilience in the face of ongoing adversity.

Yakka examines our ongoing relationship to the environment, both natural and manipulated, along with the tensions created through the juxtaposition of uniformity and individuality. Eugenie Kawabata is an independent, Melbourne based designer and maker of objects, furniture and functional art.

Her practice is informed by an interest in design’s transformation of materiality and how this affects the way we engage with the objects around us. Eugenie focuses on the hands-on experience, the act of designing through making.

Eugenie seeks to blur the line between art and design, while embracing an ethos of sustainability.

Last year Eugenie launched her new collection marking a new direction, Second Life, a series of sculptural watertight vessels using upholstery offcuts. The National Gallery of Victoria acquired one for their design collection.

Eugenie has developed her own signature processes of making, ensuring each of her pieces are unique. Eugenie demonstrates through her collections a commitment to reimagining materials and form, sustainable production and enduring, timeless design.

Contact us to discuss this work further and commission pieces