Tanija & Graham Carr Leather Sculpture

Tanija and Graham Carr are Western Australian artists particularly influenced by their training as architects. They have been married and working in collaboration for over twenty five years. Drawing on a variety of influences (African, Asian, Aborigine) and styles they produce striking sculptural forms in leather using traditional tooling and saddle making techniques. The leather is hand cut, stitched and wet formed. Infused into their sculpture is an attention to detail and finish, an emphasis on the tactile, the absorption and reflection of light and an understanding of the material and a desire to push it.

The Carrs hone in on their subject from different directions allowing them to seek a unique solution producing new forms. The transition of the concept to the three dimensional object is facilitated using only a rough sketch. They work in unison on each piece, collectively bringing together their ideas. For Tanija and Graham the statement is as important as the medium, although their techniques are traditional their ideas are original. Their sculptures appear both ritualistic and symbolic and have the impression of both antiquity and a futurist machine age. The work is evocative commanding attention with a feeling of the intangible, a memory. The concept of bowl and vessel is extended and enhanced with a powerful sculptural presence.

The work of Tanija and Graham Carr is collected by such diverse parties as the Australian Parliament House, the Contemporary Art museum of Hawaii to designer Donna Karan.