Heartefact - Wallflowers Project

Wallflowers Project

Wallflowers: Reimagining Historical Interiors explores colour and pattern using digitised photographs of late 19th and early 20th century interiors from the John Oxley Library Collection at the State Library of Queensland.

Anna digitally colourised selected historical images and undertook research to investigate their original colourways and/or those of their era. Anna also reconstructed wallpaper patterns visible in the background and created the Wallflowers: Digital Interactive Experience, where they are presented in an endless variety of colours and you can download your favourite combination to use as your screensaver — from 'wallpaper' to ‘wallpaper’.

Check out Anna's blog posts on the State Library of Queensland website for details about the featured Wallflowers — Canning Downs Homestead, Rinaultrie and Westbrook Homestead.

Interior view of the Westbrook Homestead drawing room, 1895, 34609, Westbrook Station and Homestead and Jennings Family Photographs, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland, Image number: 34609-0001-0006.

Interior view of the Westbrook Homestead drawing room, 1895, 34609, Westbrook Station and Homestead and Jennings Family Photographs, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland, Image number: 34609-0001-0006. Image colourised using Google Gemini Nano Banana Pro.

Reconstructed wallpaper pattern ‘Westbrook Homestead – Drawing Room’, digital drawing by Anna Rowe. Randomised modern colourways extracted from Wallflowers: Digital Interactive Experience.

To explore the Wallflowers: Digital Interactive Experience, simply tap (for mobile) or click (for desktop / laptop) on the screen to see your selected pattern generated in an infinite variety of colours. Use the buttons on the right-hand side to navigate between the four different patterns. See a combination you like? Simply select the ‘Save Wallpaper’ button to download the image.

The colours are randomised, so it may take a few goes before you find a combination you like. But remember, once you click forward, you can’t go back. So, save what you like, when you see it.

Have fun picking your favourite Wallflower! 🌸