Yala Sofa

  

Elliat Rich, Yala Sofa, thermochromatic ink, digital print, plywood, Laminex, stainless steel components, upholstering materials, 780 x 540 x 2100 mm, 2008. (© Elliat Rich. Photos © Steve Strike.

Yala Sofa is a furniture piece that blossoms in the company of others. Inspired by the ipomoea, a plant that grows throughout the central deserts of Australia, Yala Sofa provides an inspiring space for people to come together. The use of thermochromatic ink renders the ipomoea flowers invisible until heat from the bodies of those sitting on the sofa activates the ink and the flowers are revealed.

The ipomoea plant, otherwise known as the Bush Potato or Yala by the Pintupi people, provides a rich source of bush food for those who live in harsh conditions in the central desert. A potato-like tuber grows in the roots of the plant, and digging it up is an opportunity for socializing. The Yala plant flowers after desert rains.

Elliat Rich
Australia
URLs: www.elliatrich.com, www.yalasofa.com

Updated 5 November 2009