BIMBA Y LOLA

INTERVIEW Sandra López
PHOTOGRAPHY Raquel Franco

Is there a part of the house that is special to you, that inspires or relaxes you?

In the living room, by the window. I like to look out from time to time and see what is going on in my street, there are always a lot of different people passing by.

Your own home is also your studio, what's it like to work at home?

The truth is that I like to spend some time working in ateliers and others at home, but it's very difficult to find spaces in Paris. It's true that when I make large format pieces, I prefer to do it in a studio and put myself in the mood of an important project. But when they are small paintings, I prefer to do them at home, surrounded by my things.

Do you think this influences you when creating?

Yes, when I do them at home they are more personal pieces, portraits of people and animals from my environment. Now my plan is to find a workshop to produce a single show in the next few months. It's time to concentrate and shut myself up, at home I get distracted very easily.

Let's talk about your works; in all of them we find that special atmosphere, full of contrasts and chiaroscuro, which make them disturbing and, many times, even suffocating and dark. How is it to transmit this Prain essence to fashion?

It is not easy. At the beginning of my career, when I started to work for brands and commercial magazines, I was always asked to try to make it less "creepy", but as I didn't see it myself, I don't really know if I succeeded, hahaha. I just used less "creepy" and less chiaroscuro. Thank goodness now, except for a couple of occasions that I've had some themes censored, like "nothing sexual" or "nothing gory", I don't get my wings clipped.

In each of your creations there is a different story, very personal and intimate, Do you think this characteristic is present in the collaboration with Bimba?

Absolutely. I was tired of seeing how they were only given space in fashion to famous people with no brains, and I feel that the new generations are demanding other things. That’s what I wanted to express.

The illustration you have created for the collaboration has an aesthetic that reminds of some album covers or book covers. Reminiscent of some album covers or book covers, what is the reason for this particular essence?

I wanted to pay homage to the fanzines and underground comics that inspired me so much in my adolescence. Then I thought of making my own cover for a fanzine of a book club for women.

What was the creative process like?

I did a lot of quick sketches looking at my notes from school and the drawings I did in those notebooks, then I transferred them to pen with black ink and, finally, I photocopied them.

In all the pieces we find present the concept of "Intellectual wellness", how would you explain it? Is there any reference behind it?

I wanted to talk about the power of the female mind. In some video calls I had very interesting conversations with the girls from the creative department of the brand and from that positive energy everything.

What do you think of the final result of the collaboration?

I'm very happy, I love the format, they knew how to adapt it perfectly!

Do you think it's important that fashion and art come together?

It's important that commercial brands that collaborate with artists exists. Fashion and art are culture, so they always feed each other. I think that the brands that bet artists are the ones we will remember.