Description:

The westernisation of the paisley, 2022

The Westernisation of the paisley is a mixed media installation piece. The project began with exploring South Asian patterns specifically the paisley design, its origins trace back to India and arrived in Europe in the 18th-19th Century through Imports from the East India Company (Baker, 2017). This loaded history of imperialism attached to the design informed the making of the installation, as the oversimplified 3D paisleys evoke a ‘watering-down’ of cultural patterns/textiles in the western world – by stripping the paisley back to only its form, it no longer is as recognisable to audiences. The piece is an attempt to decolonise through remembering as the missing history of colonialism is portrayed in the empty paisley cut-outs in the fabric left behind.

Baker, L., 2017. Paisley: The story of a classic bohemian print. [online] Bbc.com.

Size:

68 x 300 cm

Medium(s):

Mixed media – plaster, wood, cotton, acrylic paint

Price:

NFS