Toile de Jouy Inspired designs, with Political Storytelling at the Forefront.

The walls that surround us have always been the perfect blank canvas for decorating and personalising our spaces, since humans first inhibited caves up until present day. The motifs, murals and repeat patterns covering the interiors of our homes often tell a story, painting the most idyllic of scenes, like in the classic French Toile de Jouy which never really seems to go out of fashion but was popularised in the late 18th century. These distinguishable classic Toile’s which often depicted the triumphs of politics, and the most picturesque, blissful side of life is to me a form of escapism and is what inspired me to do the exact opposite. In a world where arctic sea ice is rapidly diminishing, flying insects have declined by about 64% since 2004, the leaders of our countries are openly greedy and corrupt, and the workers we rely on the most are severely underpaid, there is nothing idyllic or picturesque about that.

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Whilst researching historical fashions in wallpaper, one that stood out to me as was Toile de Jouy, for its beautiful attention to detail and subtle storytelling. As seen below, i have deigned my very own modern day Toile de Jouy, which focuses on the social and political issues we face in todays Britain.