‘Devoid of any type of cultural value’: Villeroy & Boch criticised for ‘misuse’ of Aboriginal art

High-end ceramics brand Villeroy & Boch has been accused of the “misappropriation” of Aboriginal art for a range of plates and bowls made in Germany and sold in Europe and the United States.

The “Manufacture Rock Desert” tableware line is described as “inspired by the traditional Aboriginal dot painting style” on the Villeroy & Boch website, with no mention of a collaboration with an Aboriginal artist or artists. The company has confirmed the range was designed in Europe.

Villeroy & Boch is selling the Rock Desert line throughout Europe, including through its own website and Amazon.co.uk and major retailers such as department stores Galeria Kaufhof in Germany and Selfridges and Harrods in Britain, with prices of up to £24.90 ($44.30) for a dinner plate.  It is also available at Macy's in the US and from online retailers such as marthastewart.com. It is not sold in Australia, and The Sun-Herald understands Villeroy & Boch Australia decided not to release the range here.

Villeroy & Boch tableware rom the Rock Desert range ‘inspired by Aboriginal art’.

Stephanie Parkin, co-chair of the Indigenous Art Code, said Aboriginal art was an “expression of identity” for Indigenous artists and design “inspired by Aboriginal art” lacked that understanding.

“It’s yet another example of the misappropriation that occurs of Aboriginal art and culture in the mainstream space,” Ms Parkin said. “It’s devoid of any type of cultural value and if it’s being done without the consent of an Aboriginal person, for profit, then I would consider it cultural appropriation and misuse of Aboriginal art and culture.”

In response to written questions from The Sun-Herald, Villeroy & Boch’s head office in Germany said the brand “apologises if the Rock Desert range may have caused offence”.

“Villeroy & Boch had no intention of creating an impression that the Rock Desert Range was other than a creative interpretation and intended no disrespect to Indigenous art or culture,” the statement says.

Ms Parkin said Villeroy & Boch was unlikely to be in breach of copyright law, “provided they’re not doing a direct copy of an artist’s work”.

Copyright generally protects an artwork from being copied during the lifetime of an artist and for 70 years after death. Ms Parkin said many experts believe a standalone law is needed to protect traditional cultural knowledge.

The Federal Court recently fined Birubi Art $2.3 million for selling fake Aboriginal art, falsely claiming the products were made in Australia and handpainted by Aboriginal artists.  Villeroy & Boch did not claim its products were authentic.

A dinner plate from the Villeroy & Boch ‘Rock Desert’ range.

In the press release launching the range in February this year, Villeroy & Boch describes it as “original Aboriginal art with a twist” and describes it as using the “popular dot painting style developed in the Papunya artists’ colony”. The press release was removed from the website after inquiries from The Sun-Herald.

Artists from the Papunya Tula and Papunya Tjupi art collectives were unavailable for comment, with the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair coming up later this week.

Ms Parkin said it was a “missed opportunity” for Villeroy & Boch to work with Indigenous artists.

“The artists miss out on the opportunity and the business also misses out on the opportunity to create a meaningful arrangement with artists and ultimately the consumer misses out because they’re not purchasing an object with the cultural value that comes with those pieces,” she said.

Recently women’s clothing brand Gorman collaborated with artists from Mangkaja Arts in the Kimberley in a deal brokered by The Copyright Agency.

Virginia Morrison, a senior lawyer at The Copyright Agency, said other high-profile deals included Qantas licensing artwork from Balarinji design studio for its aircraft livery and The Westin hotel in Perth licensing an Indigenous artwork for a foyer sculpture.

"It would be best practice when you want to launch a range like that to select a pre-existing work with a licensing deal or perhaps contract an artist to make something from scratch," she said. "The three aspects of a fair deal are that licensing fees are paid to the artist, there's proper attribution and the work is treated respectfully."

Villeroy & Boch said it had never sold the Rock Desert range in Australia but did not explain why. The company confirmed it had been made aware of concerns.

“Villeroy & Boch is already in contact with an Aboriginal community to discuss a possible collaboration," the statement said. "Besides this we are also in contact with an Australian Indigenous organisation to gain better awareness of the issues involved.”

The Sun-Herald asked for more details but did not receive a reply.

The Indigenous Art Code chief executive Gabrielle Sullivan said she tried to contact Villeroy & Boch several times after learning of the Rock Desert range. She received no reply until Friday when she was told her letter had been passed to head office. Ms Sullivan said she was told the local branch had made an active decision not to sell the range here.

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