Boanga

De Boer created this piece through the German manufacturer Stuttgarter Gardinenfabrik. This company was established in 1934, flourishing in the 1950s as a confident and design-led producer of textiles. De Boer joined the company in 1962 and was appointed studio head in 1963, and then artistic director in 1975, where her textiles dominated the company's output. The town Boanga in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Africa's bamboo forests were the inspirations for the motif. The abstract and rhythmic approach De Boer took with this piece reflects her ability to create a controlled pattern, which appears to be sporadic and free-spirited, similar to Lucienne Day's Tekka. The color way of grays and blues disguises the obvious characteristics of bamboo, and instead creates a seemingly calm and cadenced design appropriate for household textiles. The overlap of trunks and leaves echoes the Finnish approach with textiles, where it also creates dimensionality suggesting an expansive bamboo forest. This piece not only shows the affinity 1960s designers had towards depicting nature in a giganticised and abstract manner, but also shows the cultural exchange at that. African identities were becoming more established, causing an exchange of cultures and goods. The role of anthropology and increasing cultural awareness played a large part in 1960s western society, which embraced ethnic cultures, ideas and designs.