24th August 2017

Camille Walala’s Creative Marathon

What does a mental health hospital in north-east London, a former 1920s bank in Ohio, and an open space tucked behind London’s Liverpool Street station all have in common? Come mid-September all three will be glowing in Camille Walala’s bold patterns and bright hues.

Camille Walala is quite possibly having the busiest three months of her career. At the beginning of July, NOW Gallery in Greenwich opened its doors to WALALA X PLAY. An immersive maze decorated in Camille’s distinctive aesthetic, the installation has seen throngs of visitors come to the gallery with the sole purpose of losing an hour or so to play.

Fast forward two weeks, with a bunch of press events and several glasses of fizz squeezed in between, and Camille could be found painting a mural inside London’s Park Royal Centre for Mental Health. The mural was commissioned by the Nightingale Project, an initiative that aims to brighten up hospitals with music and art, and marked untrodden territory for Camille. Instead of her signature bold colours, Camille developed a muted colour palette to wrap around the walls of the hospital’s reception area.

Camille Walala painting at The Nightingale Project

August wasn’t any slower. First Camille jetted off to Cleveland, Ohio where she was tasked with decorating the facade of Pop Life, a former bank (which stood derelict for 10 years) that is being transformed into a creative complex housing a gallery, yoga studios and several apartments. Next stop was Mexico. Not only did Camille speak at design conference TAG - MX, but she also designed Meet Your Hero, a designated area inside the conference where interviews were held.

Pop Life, Ohio

This marathon of creativity culminates in September where Camille’s Villa Walala will take centre stage as one of London Design Festival’s Landmark Projects. Villa Walala is a colourful and irresistibly soft-to-touch structure made from cushioned vinyl forms, sealed PVC inners and high-strength nylon, adorned with Camille’s distinctive patterns and bold hues. The malleable shapes will be inflated by fans, transforming them into three-dimensional, play-inducing forms. Situated in Broadgate, the heart of the City, the tutti-frutti playscape will bring colour and fun to the otherwise high-pressured, suit-heavy city surrounds.

If anyone deserves a lay in at the end of September, it’s Camille.

WALALA X PLAY at NOW Gallery

Can't get enough of Camille Walala? Read about Camille Walala x Floor Story, Camille's London Design Festival exhibition in 2016, Design Undefined or click here to know more about how the Zetteler meeting tables came into existence.