Sidewall, Industry

This gift of three rolls of wallpaper produced by NLXL contains two patterns designed by Studio Job and one by Arthur Slenk. L’Afrique and Industry complement each other and help show the diversity of Studio Job’s design aesthetic. This collection is called Archives Wallpaper as each of the patterns was culled from past works created by Studio Job.
Industry is a dense pattern with the motifs rendered as silhouettes and printed in shades of gray. This design mixes images of industrialization alongside those of mass destruction, so transmission towers, factories and gears are interspersed with bombs, gas masks, and containers of toxic waste. Studio Job sees this design as a commentary on the twenty-first century, where industrialism initially leads to progress and wealth but can ultimately lead to mass-destruction. Being printed in grisaille, or shades of gray, forms a nice bridge with other grisaille wallpapers in the collection. Historically, wallpapers were printed in grisaille to give the designs a more sculptural or classical look. The symmetry of Industry gives the design a sense of balance, but the imagery of cooling towers, pollution, and weapons of mass destruction imparts a dire, doomsday feeling, which goes against the expected connotation of wallpaper.
The Industry pattern was originally created for the Industry Series, a collection of inlaid furniture introduced at Carpenters Workshop Gallery in London, 2010. The furniture was made of Indian rose wood inlaid with maple silhouettes.

Sidewall, Industry; 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; 2015-31-1