Categories: Tjanpi Desert Weavers
Name: Erica Shorty
Community: Warakurna
Biography:
Erica Shorty is an artist belonging to the Ngaanyatjarra language and cultural group and lives in the remote community of Warakurna, Western Australia.
Erica first became involved in making Tjanpi by participating alongside senior Tjanpi artists in the Trench Art Camp near Mutitjulu in the Northern Territory in early 2016. Erica is the aunt of artist and Tjanpi Remote Arts and Culture Assistant Cynthia Burke, who has assisted Erica to develop her weaving skills and knowledge. Soon after beginning with Tjanpi, Erica took part in various exhibitions with group and individual woven works. She soon established her own whimsical and quirky sculptural style which she continues to develop and refine. Alongside weaving, Erica also paints and makes punu.
'It's fun to work with the ladies. I like trying new things and making new animals. I mostly make tjulpu (bird) but once I made a giraffe and a llama!’ - Erica Shorty
Tjanpi Desert Weavers (Tjanpi meaning ‘wild grass’) is an award-winning, Indigenous governed and directed social enterprise of the Ngaanyatjarra, Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara Women’s Council (NPYWC). Tjanpi empowers over 400 women across a 350 000 square km area of the tri-state region of NT, SA and WA to earn an income and remain in their communities on Country.