Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, room 514a , Case SH45

12345 Wallpaper

Wallpaper
1999-2000 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This wallpaper was designed by Canadian artist Kelly Mark (born 1967). It was produced as part of the NSCAD (Novia Scotia College of Art and Design) wallpaper series, for which a number of artists (former instructors and alumni of the college) were invited to contribute designs in 1999.

Kelly Mark's design references the idea of the domestic interior as a prison - it has a pattern made up of endless rows of 'five-bar gates', the hand-written marks used for counting. Screen-printed from hand-drawn original marks, they are uneven and variable as if made with different implements. They suggest the marking of time by someone confined or housebound, if not actually imprisoned. The paper carries overtones of claustrophobia, and offers a witty take on the monotony of repetition, a defining feature of much domestic routine. It also makes play with the idea of wallpaper as a pattern of repeated marks.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Title12345 Wallpaper (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Hand screenprint on paper
Brief description
'12345 Wallpaper', wallpaper printed black on white with repeated 'five bar gate' markings, by Kelly Mark, Canada, 1999-2000.
Physical description
Roll of wallpaper printed black on white with repeated 'five bar gate' markings, as used in counting.
Dimensions
  • Width: 69.5cm
Length not measured
Copy number
unlimited edition
Credit line
Purchased through the Julie and Robert Breckman Print Fund
Subject depicted
Summary
This wallpaper was designed by Canadian artist Kelly Mark (born 1967). It was produced as part of the NSCAD (Novia Scotia College of Art and Design) wallpaper series, for which a number of artists (former instructors and alumni of the college) were invited to contribute designs in 1999.

Kelly Mark's design references the idea of the domestic interior as a prison - it has a pattern made up of endless rows of 'five-bar gates', the hand-written marks used for counting. Screen-printed from hand-drawn original marks, they are uneven and variable as if made with different implements. They suggest the marking of time by someone confined or housebound, if not actually imprisoned. The paper carries overtones of claustrophobia, and offers a witty take on the monotony of repetition, a defining feature of much domestic routine. It also makes play with the idea of wallpaper as a pattern of repeated marks.
Collection
Accession number
E.323-2006

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Record createdOctober 31, 2006
Record URL
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