Aboriginal Artists Designed Breville’s Stunning New A

By Zachary Petit

THER E’S A NECESSARY TENSION that hangs over any corporate product involving the original inhabitants of a country—a fact that’s as true in Australia as it is the United States. So when you see “Breville” and “Aboriginal Culinary Journey,” you’re right to be dubious. Alison Page, a Wadi Wadi and Walbanga member of the Yuin nation and founder of the National Aboriginal Design Agency in Australia, wanted to change the paradigm. So as curator of Breville’s new limited-edition product line of kitchen appliances designed by four prominent Aboriginal artists, she did.

“It was really important for us to treat this project as a tonic to this sickness that had kind of permeated Aboriginal design for a really long time,” she says. “Aboriginal culture had been ripped off, appropriated, stolen . . . before we were even recognized as citizens of the country.”

Breville’s Aboriginal Culinary Journey line dates back nearly 20 years, to when Page met Richard Hoare at a wedding. Hoare had just joined the high-end Australian kitchenware company as head designer, and he and Page riffed on an idea rooted in storytelling and indigenous art. It didn’t end up panning out right away, but Page says a seed was planted—and now it has germinated, resulting in a range that brings vibrant energy and life to the staid environs of our endlessly stainless steel kitchens.

The easiest part of the whole initiative was choosing the artists, Page says. “The best contemporary artists in the world come from the Western Desert.” Three of the artists—Yalti Napangati, Yukultji Napangati and Tjapaltjarri— are members of the original “Pintupi Nine,” who did not interact with the modern world until 1984. Simpson, meanwhile, is a Sydney-based artist and Yuwaalaraay woman.

The collection encompasses Yalti Napangati’s Piruwa kettle and Kampurarrpa juicer, Lucy Simpson’s Dhuuyaay oven and Dhunbarrbil toaster, Yukultji (Nolia) Napangati’s Marrapinti coffee machine, and Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri’s Tingari coffee machine.

On the whole, artmaking is directly woven into the lives of Aboriginal Australians. “We do have a