on the Conservation of wallpapers

The conservation of vintage wallpapers lies rather outside my own areas of expertise, but I am very interested in maintenance tasks and also in the secret life of material things, therefore I learn from - and enjoy - observing how the important objects and materials at MoDA are maintained and conserved by the Staff there.

In selecting wallpapers to show to the public in the Sonic Wallpaper exhibition, it is essential that what we choose can withstand the pressures of being framed, travelled around, and exposed to light. Emma Shaw discussed with me last week how inherently ephemeral and fragile wallpaper is, and explained a bit about how samples must be prepared for display.

Some sections of wallpaper in the MoDA collection are still in rolls and need to be flattened. These include a design which features stone arches in a kind of faux architecture pattern, and a flocked paper.


Wallpaper © Museum of Domestic Design & Architecture, Middlesex University – photographed by Felicity Ford

The flocking process is apparently very involved, and results in many delicate fibres poking directly upwards from the paper. These fibres can be easily crushed or damaged, so it is important that if weights are applied to the surface, that this is done carefully and that something is done to protect the flocking.


Wallpaper © Museum of Domestic Design & Architecture, Middlesex University – photographed by Felicity Ford

To flatten the flocked wallpaper I am hoping to include in the Sonic Wallpaper project, Emma Shaw - who is the Preventative Conservation Officer at MoDA - laid 2 heavy sheets of blotting paper on top of it, and then a thinnish sheet of glass on top of them. The resulting "sandwich" now sits on a worktable in the conservation room, where Emma will periodically check up on it, until it is flat.


Wallpaper © Museum of Domestic Design & Architecture, Middlesex University – photographed by Felicity Ford

The other design will be flattened by applying through fine misting using a dahlia spray. The moisture will cause the fibres in the paper to relax, so that it will flatten out easily.


Wallpaper © Museum of Domestic Design & Architecture, Middlesex University – photographed by Felicity Ford

What I especially liked about watching Emma fix up the papers - and listening to her speak about the process - was the sense of methodical and necessary labour. These kinds of tasks are absolutely essential for the preservation of anything old or delicate, and experts all over the country right now are performing routine tasks of maintenance and conservation on things so that we may continue to enjoy and see them long into the future.

The sounds in the recording I have published here are of myself and Emma discussing the conservation work; of the hum of the air-conditioning in the conservation room; and of the materials involved in preserving the wallpaper. I like the recording for its quiet sense of industry, and for the way it evidences materials and tools and the preservation of the past.