Andere Monjo is a poet of spaces; to enter into her world is to swim in an ocean of unusual materials, to surf a wave of delicately fluid objects and currents that exhibit the beauty of her private universe. Her art, where imagination and fantasy are the protagonists, is a constant quest to evoke oneiric feelings in the viewer, as if embracing fragments of a dream of the perfect ode.
Andere Monjo is a poet of spaces; to enter into her world is to swim in an ocean of unusual materials, to surf a wave of delicately fluid objects and currents that exhibit the beauty of her private universe. Her art, where imagination and fantasy are the protagonists, is a constant quest to evoke oneiric feelings in the viewer, as if embracing fragments of a dream of the perfect ode.
She began her career as a designer alongside Antonio Miró, after graduating in Textile and Fashion Design from ESDI, (Barcelona) and then worked for well-known fashion companies in both Spain and England. In 2005 she moved to London, and after studying at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design she was involved in a diverse range of projects, including interior design work (for Bar Glass in Paris and Café Godot in Barcelona), window dressing (ABC Home in New York) and designing home furnishings such as her ‘Rain Tables’, produced exclusively for the internationally-renowned Mint Shop, which specialises in showcasing the work of up-and-coming new designers. She has also been responsible for the creation of visual concepts for art and design publications such as Viewpoint and Stylesight.
She is sensitive to the constantly changing nuances of her language, which is in constant flux, just like her words when asked about her inspiration. Shall we dive into her world?
1. Setting sail in Spain.
I began to develop my creative awareness whilst working with Antonio Miró in his studio as a fashion designer, where I realised that he placed a great deal of trust in my eye for textiles and prints. Three years later, I and some Finnish and French designers (Pequeños Héroes and Toodleeo) set up a group to showcase our first creations in Comité, a small workshop specialised in print design, based in the Raval district of Barcelona. Dedicating time to the execution of what was a much more artisanal project helped me to realise that to progress in my career I would need some first-hand experience of how the giant industry that is fashion design actually works. That’s why I didn’t hesitate in setting off to Coruña to start work as a designer for Zara. During this stage of my career I grew significantly as a professional, gaining skills that I would perhaps not have developed anywhere else. Without a doubt, Zara was in many ways like a second university. As soon as I felt more prepared, I decided to pursue my career in London, keen for the chance to work in other international companies.
I feel particularly motivated by projects that pose new challenges, challenges that help me to explore new areas and so continue growing.
2. And drifting through your emotions, the force of the wind carries us to the Thames.
When I arrived in London, I worked for a while in fashion but after a few months I had a kind of gut feeling that it was time for a change. I needed to do something more creative and, above all, more personal. There’s something about this city, something in the air that makes it easy to encounter a hugely diverse range of people, and I think that encourages you to follow up your own concerns, to dare to go a little further and as a result to reinforce your own identity. I had always dreamed of studying at Central Saint Martins: many of the most creative designers in the world trained there. And so I realised that this was the ideal moment to branch out and explore new horizons. Once accepted onto the Master’s in Future Textiles, everything changed: all of my conventional ideas about design were blown apart. During my first year at Central I came to understand that my training in Spain bore no resemblance to what I was experiencing in London. At Central there were no classes; rather, each student was responsible for carrying out their own project, guided by a series of tutorials, and what you were working on and learning as an individual had nothing to do with anyone else. The tutors did not demand the same level or type of work from each student, because it was taken as a given that every person is their own universe. I was fascinated by way that the tutors could extract the very best from every student, even if it meant venturing into territory that was not strictly related to the course in question, as in my case. Today, I do not strictly consider myself a textile designer. Instead, I feel that I have substantially broadened my art and, as a result, I am much less limited. Indeed, I feel particularly motivated by projects that pose new challenges, challenges that help me to explore new areas and so continue growing.
Baked Table by Andere Monjo
3. Your own island, your personal universe, where both oceans flow.
I enjoy creating objects and spaces for interiors, window displays, events and publications. I have had the pleasure of collaborating on a variety of different projects, in the artistic sphere as much as in the world of contemporary design. It seems to me the best of both worlds. To some people I am a designer and to others an artist. I do not try to label myself. I am grateful to have had the chance to take on projects that are all very different and at the same time to have worked with a diverse range of people. Yet despite their diversity, they all look for the same thing in me: my individual creative vision.
4. Weighing anchor for the conquest of new shores, in search of rebirth.At the moment I am working on a special commission for the Café Godot, a new bistro in Barcelona. I have prepared some panels made of treated mirror that I call ‘Rain Surfaces’, which will be placed on the main wall to create a distressed look, a psychedelic atmosphere. The magic and individuality of the Rain Surfaces comes from the combination of the worn effect and that of the backdrop of organic watery patterns created by the rain, allowing nature itself to form part of the creative process.
Seismic waves:
1. A London space where you would like you creations to appear:
I’d have them floating freely.
2. And in Spain…
Floating in the air.
3. In London inspiration is: encounters.
4. In Spain inspiration is: tradition.
5. The speed of the waves carries us to the future, to an as yet uninhabited plane…
I would like to create enigmatic and unfamiliar environments in infinite open spaces that surprise people and make them feel like they are entering another dimension.
[su_note note_color=”#eaeae9″]Translated by Freya Willetts[/su_note]