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Haus Rug Collection by Pampa x Bobby Clark
Taking the Bauhaus movement as inspiration, Melbourne artist Bobby Clark has created a stellar collection of geometric rugs, called Haus, for Pampa.
Byron Bay-based label Pampa is founded on an ethos of collaboration, working with artisanal weavers in Argentina (‘pampa’ is a Quechuan word that means the plain between the mountains) to create ethically made rugs, textiles and homewares. For the Haus collection of rugs, Pampa engaged with a creative closer to home – Melbourne-based artist and photographer Bobby Clark, whose minimal works are renowned for their exploration of symmetry and balance.
Clark further explores those qualities in the exquisite range of four rugs, using the fundamentals of Germany’s Bauhaus movement – simplicity and functionality foremost among them – as her inspiration. The result is a heavily geometric collection that is imbued with the spirit of the 1970s and which, says Pampa co-founder Victoria Aguirre, captures the essence of Clark’s creative process and inspirations.
“Guided by a carefully curated process, Bobby begins with a foundation of balance, precision and measured design,” says Aguirre. “This structured approach serves as a canvas for thematic exploration, allowing concepts to evolve organically. Bobby also infuses vulnerability and openness into her pieces, resulting in intricately crafted works.”
Pampa is dedicated to supporting traditional weavers in Argentina and other parts of South America, where the art is in danger of being lost. “We’re committed to protecting this woven heritage for the next generation and to promote the qualities of natural wool,” says Aguirre. “And we provide our artisanal communities, small-scale farmers and social enterprises with fair wages and support them to preserve their fine craftsmanship. For our customers, it’s about connecting them with something that is made slowly and carefully by hand with natural materials – gifts from Pachamama, or Mother Earth.”
The rugs have a beautiful connection to these makers, thanks to an inspiring idea of Bobby Clark’s: each piece features the hand-sewn initials of its weaver, stitched in red. “This unique detail highlights the handmade nature of each rug and celebrates the creative unity of two artists coming together.”
The Haus collection, which comes in a colour range that includes stone, brown, olive, white and burgundy, was fittingly photographed at Paul Morgan Architects’ Cape Schanck House on the southern tip of Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, a modernist-influenced home which interacts with its surrounds through “the careful manipulation of form, material and colour – echoing our weaver’s approach to creating rugs”.
