Lydia Pierce-Brown

George Saunders Reimagined

For the George Saunders Reimagined Exhibition, Lydia created a captivating wallpaper design that reflects both cultures and showcases Saunders' journey and successful career, her project draws on her acquired skills and support from her Textiles course, enabling her to experiment and bring her vision to life.

Textile Design Student

Give us a brief overview of your project

My project explores the migration of George Saunders from St Kitts, Jamaica, to Birmingham, England. The wallpaper design showcases themes of both cultures as well as Saunders' profession of tailoring. The British bird motifs represent the long journey George Saunders travelled to the United Kingdom. Additionally, the outlined illustrations of the hippodrome and the front of the Back to Back houses show the city of Birmingham as well as the area Saunders' lived and ran his successful business. The layered background features multiple abstract shapes, one of which is a tailored jacket, representing George Saunders' impressive and renowned career.

Why did you choose this concept?

I was inspired by George Saunders' determination to pursue his passion, despite the challenges he faced during his life. Travelling from his less-developed home country of Jamaica to Birmingham, where he began his tailoring career in small Victorian housing to show his continuous hard work.

What processes have you been using?

My wallpaper design includes a range of mixed media, including watercolour, digital drawings and sublimation printing. All the components have been combined in Adobe Photoshop to develop a solid repeating pattern.

What do you hope to achieve with your project?

I hope my wallpaper designs reflect the well deserved recognition and incredible life George Saunders achieved, as well as providing a new, captivating and modern look for the Back to Back houses.

How has your course helped you to prepare for working on your project?

The Textiles Design course has helped me to experiment with different designs using a range of materials, by the use of the industry level machinery supplied in the workshops. Additionally, I received useful support to develop my skills on Adobe Photoshop when arranging the compositions of the wallpaper.