Wallcovering project report

For my project I intend to focus on incorporating garden sheds and allotments into a collection of Trompe L’oeil themed wall coverings. To gain knowledge of the history of wall coverings and paper I plan to go to The Whitworth Gallery in Manchester for a talk on their archived wall papers and also to see the exhibition ‘Putting on the Glitz’, which will hopefully give me an insight into how wall covering techniques have evolved and shall help me when considering my final designs. For initial research I intend to go to allotments to take photographs from which I will draw from and use the images as a basis to develop my work.
Wall coverings, as the idea of decorating a wall, have evolved through the eras with the origins being known to have begun in the Egyptian times where they painted directly onto their walls. Later, wall coverings developed from serving not only as an aesthetic purpose but also as a heating device in colder countries where fabric was then hung from the wall. The wealthier people such as merchants had expensive decorated tapestries hung from their walls and to imitate this effect the poorer people decorate their papered walls so they appeared to be tapestries.
To gain inspiration I began researching wallpapers, covering all three themes: Hortus Botanicus, Toile Du Jouy and Trompe L’oeil. I particularly liked the illusion theme, Trompe L’oeil, as I find it very interesting and inspirational. I like how it played with the idea of reality and realism and love Deborah Bowness’ Trompe L’oeil work because her designs are very realistic (see image one) and it is a nice change from the regular floral papers that are commonly seen in DIY shops. I began thinking of the idea as to what you could make look like it is attached onto the wall but actually is not. The possibilities I realised are endless and I liked the idea of instead of using realistic objects that could possibly be in a room next to the wall e.g. Photograph frames, I thought about the idea of having things that you would not ordinarily expect to see on the interior wall for example, outhouses, sheds etc... bringing the outside in. An example of this illusion style is in the 1970s where brick wallpaper (see image two) was popular. Also in regards to contemporary issues and in social context, having allotments, growing your own food and recycling is a hugely popular concept and has been encouraged by the likes of Hugh Fernly Wittingstall and Jamie Oliver.
As part of my research into the history of wall coverings I went to the Whitworth Gallery in Manchester to see their archived collection of wallpapers and also to see the ‘Putting on the Glitz’ exhibition which was a feature of fancily decorated wallpapers. I found the archived wallpaper talk very interesting as it gave me more of an understanding of the origins of wallpapers and how the first recorded wallpaper in England dates between 1500-1510. I also found out that rag paper was used early on and it also lasts longer than most modern machine made paper due to the chemicals that are put in it today. I found it quite extraordinary to believe that wallpapers dating back to such a long time ago were in such good condition, although some had been restored it is good that this is an option, however, it is incredibly expensive to restore wallpapers. It was also interesting to know how the different types of design of wallpaper came about and how even though the ideas are very old they are by no means dated as they are still used today. An example of this is a popular trend in Japan where rolls of painted scenes were sold separately then you would buy a roll of wallpaper with birds on and would then apply the bird to your wall how you liked, this is comparable to Rachel Kelly who decorates the backgrounds of wallpapers and sells stickers separately which the consumer then applies themselves, the element of customising your own wallpaper it unique (see image three). I also found it interesting that social surroundings affect wallpaper design and they have been used for propaganda and also educational purposes e.g. Susie Mendive, who makes wallpaper which has animal silhouettes using the alphabet (see image four).
The Putting on the Glitz exhibition was a worthwhile visit because there were such a vast amount of examples and varieties of wallpaper. I was particularly interested in the techniques that were present, including embossed leather and foil (see image five). I was previously unaware that such materials and techniques were used to decorate wallpapers. This exhibition has influenced my ideas because I have decided to incorporate gold into my work and have elements of expensive finishes. It has also strengthened my idea to use flock in my designs. I think this idea of having my design of outhouses, usually having dirty connotations associated with the outdoors contrast nicely with the expensive looking techniques I intend to use. I like the idea of my work having the juxtaposition of bringing the outside in and making the inexpensive look expensive.
Having decided on outhouses and allotments as being my main source of inspiration I decided to visit allotments to photograph and focus not only on the sheds but also to see what surrounds them for example, wheelbarrows, vegetable patches etc... this is so I do not restrict the direction of my project. Using my photographs I drew the allotments and garages using various techniques and focusing and emphasising on different areas of the photograph allowing my ideas to develop. It was at this point I came across the work of Claire Coles, a textile artist, who sews into vintage wallpaper creating collages (see image six). I love how she layers different wallpapers then peels away some of them to reveal a different pattern underneath. I would like to use existing wallpapers in my work because I think it works well with the concept of how a lot of allotment sheds are made, using pieces of recycled wood and doors etc and this is how their character is obtained, a quality I would like my work to have. I also like how Claire Coles has accessories that can be attached to her wallpaper, allowing the consumer to tailor their wallpaper; I shall explore this idea in my sketch book as a possible idea for my final pieces.
As part of my research I decided to collect samples from various wallpaper shops to get an idea what wallpaper is on the market. From doing this I found out that there is a vast range to choose from, ranging from flowers to geometric shapes and realised bold floral patterns are especially popular with designer wallpaper. However I did not find anything inspirational, apart from a design that was made up using the outline of leaves.
Whilst browsing in Vogue for research purposes I came across a fashion feature where I found the background to be very interesting – the wallpaper had been partially torn from the wall, revealing the previous wallpaper (see image seven). I like this idea of revealing the behind showing the history. I explored this idea in my sketchbook using my photographs. This idea also links with a wallpaper artist that I came across called Jenny Wilkinson who designed wallpaper by numbers where she designed a Toile Du Jouy scene type of wallpaper only drawing the outline and then sold the rolls with 12 pots of paint, leaving the customer to paint and leave the areas they wish so they were free to customise their room-I love this aspect of the design (see image eight). I really like these ideas of covering and void like the fashion feature also played with. I especially like the customising aspect of Jenny Wilkinson’s wallpaper which is similar to Claire Coles accessories idea.
The flock and foil workshop that I attended was very useful and made me consider using flock in my designs, I love the three dimensional aspect of it. However, when I applied this effect to my image in my work, I found that it did not look as professional and did not achieve the expensive finish I had hoped. Because of this I decided to experiment with the foil and also the gold paint which I really like the results and found it added the subtle elegance to my images.
Having decided on the images of sheds and gardening icons that I liked I then played with the composition of how they worked together.
Upon completion of my project I would say my collection would be suited to the high end wall covering market because it would be fairly expensive to make due to the stitching process that is the main feature on the paper. Because of this the target market would be a people who are willing to pay a lot for interior decoration, the person maybe a traditionalist who enjoys the countryside and gardening, due to the subject matter of the paper. Overall i am pleased with the outcome of my project because I feel I have achieved what i set out to which was to explore the idea of allotments and to produce a collection of wall covering using inspiration from the artists that i have looked at. I have enjoyed the journey and development of my work.

Toni Giles