Abstract:
This paper is a case study of Australian wallpaper designer, Florence Broadhurst, and The Broadhurst
Collection and examines the motifs and printing techniques applied in the design process. By drawing on
primary data in the form of interviews, as well as interrogating selected work from scholars from the fields of
cultural criticism, anthropology, postcolonialism and design theory, this paper will discursively interpret the
ways in which Florence Broadhurst consumed and rearticulated dominant signs - from Western discourses of art
to decorative design and Orientalism. By considering the diverse interplay between the complex processes of
'appropriation' and production, this paper also raises the important issues of cross-cultural experience, cultural
awareness, and social responsibility in the ways that designers address the politics and ideologies that inform
their design processes and practices.
