Reimagining freehand: Interview with Silvia Garcia Camps

His illustrations and collages, stripped of all artifice, have been the ideal backdrop for brands such as Vitra o Santa&Coleamong others, to display all its functionality and aesthetics.

Photo: ©slowkind ©almagüell

Silvia is an illustrator and architect. But not necessarily in that order, which in the end is decided by her pen, capable of mixing her inner universe, in which other interests such as art, fashion or travel coexist, with success and singularity. Domesticity and interior design, in one way or another, are always splashed across her experimental work. Follow her on Instagram and read this interview to find out more about his recent work and projects. 

Tell us about yourself and your work. Where did your vocation start? Any first memories?

With my grandfather we spent many hours making models, and with my mother I remember going every year to the Decor HouseSo, looking back now, perhaps these two activities at some point later influenced my decision to study architecture.

What do you find most satisfying about your work, and is there anything you are particularly proud of?

The last one I have done together with the architect Adrián Jurado titled ".Paradoxical Exhibition"is by far the one I am most satisfied with. It came about as a result of my confinement. I invited friends and acquaintances to send me their works in digital format if they wanted to, and I undertook to organise an exhibition, building a model-gallery and exhibiting the works inside in a reduced format, on the scale of the model and disseminating it through social networks. When the confinement was over, I thought it was a good idea for all the participants to be able to see their works exhibited in a "real" space, so I joined forces with Adrián Jurado to make it happen. We managed to inaugurate this collective exhibition on 22 December 2020 and it was open to the public until 22 January 2021.

Photo: ©DEL RÍO BANI

Photo: ©DEL RÍO BANI

Another project that I was also very satisfied with was ".Domestic Workspaces"which led me to visit a total of 46 national and international architecture studios, reflecting the current architectural panorama from another point of view: the domesticity of the studios. The project ended with an exhibition of all the illustrations in the gallery H₂Or from Barcelona.

A project that I have been developing for some time now and which I hope to be able to give you news about soon is "what if?"where I create new architectural realities through collages, showing that we don't invent anything, but rather we borrow many references and apply them according to the needs of each project.

What is your creative process like, what are your sources of inspiration, any particular music while working?

I don't think I have a specific creative process, but it varies depending on the project. I think my biggest source of inspiration is definitely books. As for music, it depends on when I am at the moment, but I usually listen to foreign music radio stations.

Favourite colour, book, film and record - in that order! ;D

I like them all, it just depends on the occasion you use each of them. Choosing a book is a difficult task, but any book by Lina Bo Bardi is a good choice.

Is your home a reflection of who you are? Tell us what it smells like, your favourite corner, your favourite decorative object or piece of furniture, if you treasure a collection...

Without a doubt, yes 🙂 it is essential to feel good in it. My favourite decorative object is the Tolomeo lamp by ArtemideIt always goes with me in the different flats I've been in.

House in Coutras, Lacaton & Vassal , Coutras, 2000 - Eames House, Charles & Ray Eames , California 1949 - Lara Ríos House & Atelier , F451 Arquitectura, Gijón

Bagsværd Church, Jorn Utzon, Bagsværd 1976 - Cultural and Sport Center, Bruther, Paris 2011-2014

If you could buy anything right now and take it home, what would it be? Anything!

I would buy an infinite number of books.

A great plan at home always includes...

Friends, good food and good music.

Do you have a signature dish?

The tatin, my mother's original recipe.

Where is your favourite place in your city and abroad?

The Plaça de Sant Felip Neri (Barcelona). Any boteco in the city of São Paulo.

Silvia draws, builds and reinvents spaces through sensitivity and play, inviting us to look at the everyday with different eyes. Her house, like her work, is a place where you feel like staying a while longer.