Guindilla x paloma wool
July 30, 2021
I met Guindi through common friends and fell in love with her, she’s very special. One night, she showed me her artwork while we were having dinner and I was in awe. Later that year my friends gave me one of her works for my birthday. That piece is framed and hung on my wall at home, I admire it everyday. We are really excited to have created this capsule together. We hope you enjoy this project as much as we did putting it together.
How would you define your work?
It’s hard to describe my own work as it feels like someone asking you to define yourself. I have an idea of what you are but later we have the idea others have of you. Both are real, even if they are completely different.
We, as humans, are constantly changing, and it’s hard to define the work I did a few years ago. I guess I could define my work as a projection of what I am unable to express otherwise.
What is your background in the arts? And how does that or anything else influence what you do?
My background in arts is very poor. I come from a working class family in the middle of nowhere. The circumstances I grew up in had me using my imagination working a lot, I used to imagine the things I thought I could never have.
I tried to study art but failed because I don’t feel schools are made for me. So, I surround myself with people I admire, people who are older than me, friends, experiences, conversations and work on taking it all in. I love how people express and share their references. I absorb everything I can. I guess what I am saying is that we are what and who surrounds us. Every single person that I have met in my life (doesn’t matter the amount of time) have inspired me and I treasure what I receive from them. It’s a cycle.
What tools do you use?
I use anything. I like to paint with oil, acrylic, charcoal… It will depend on how I'm feeling on that day.
Who or what is an important artistic reference for your work?
Spirituality, sex, provocations, people, depression and what society tries to avoid is normally what I like the most.
What was the process throughout this particular project?
Nothing very difficult. The way I paint is simple. I have no patience. I mention this because it’s something important within who I am and what I do. I never sit down with my mind in blank waiting for inspiration to come to me. Most of the time (actually always) I have dreams or an image just pops into my head in a flash. I do a quick sketch to figure out how I can project it. The process from me dreaming or imagining an image until I have the sketch is fast as I always know if I like it or I can immediately tell if I am going in the right direction. As for colours, I use my intuition, what I like in the moment and how I'm feeling. I just know when something expresses the way I felt and when it doesn’t.
Find our pieces made in collaboration with Guindilla here
Photographer Alfie Whiteman
Light assistant Elliot Jones
Model Yasmin El Yassini
Directed by Guindilla