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Object Timeline

2014

2015

  • We acquired this object.

2024

  • You found it!

Sidewall, l'Afrique

This is a sidewall. It was designed by Studio Job, Dutch, founded 1998 and manufactured by NLXL. It is dated 2014 and we acquired it in 2015. Its medium is digital print on paper, non-woven backing. It is a part of the Wallcoverings department.

"L’Afrique" is a mix of traditional African iconography and contemporary motifs. African masks, feathers, snakes and lush tropical foliage are intermixed with spark plugs, tire irons and springs. The traditional motifs are brightly colored while the objects of mass production are printed in shades of gray. The flatness of the design along with the bold coloring and heavy outlines give the design an art deco appearance. The shapes are overlapped and the snakes are intertwined among the different elements, creating a dense pattern that pops against the white background.
This pattern was originally created for a circular rug for Moooi, a retail firm founded by Marcel Wanders and Casper Vissars in 2001. The design was later reworked as a printed textile for the Dutch textile company Vlisco. The wallpaper design presents another interpretation, and as the wallpaper is nineteen inches wide by thirty feet with no repeat this was not a simple copy and paste. It involved a complete reworking of all the motifs to fit this size and scale.

This object was donated by NLXL. It is credited Gift of NLXL.

Its dimensions are

L x W: 1000.8 × 48.9 cm (32 ft. 10 in. × 19 1/4 in.)

Cite this object as

Sidewall, l'Afrique; Designed by Studio Job, Dutch, founded 1998 (Netherlands); Manufactured by NLXL; Netherlands; digital print on paper, non-woven backing; L x W: 1000.8 × 48.9 cm (32 ft. 10 in. × 19 1/4 in.); Gift of NLXL; 2015-31-2

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<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/68731103/ |title=Sidewall, l'Afrique |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=17 April 2024 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>