In conversation with camille walala

With her signature vibrant patterns, geometric shapes and striking colours, Camille Walala spreads joy wherever she goes…

-  ROSIE HILDER

For someone who used to worry about drawing, because she was convinced she’d be wasting paper, Camille Walala has come a long way. After struggling in London for several years, working in a café and doing creative work on the side, often for free, she finally got her breakthrough project: painting an exuberant mural on a building in Old Street. She still didn’t make any money, but she did get people’s attention.

Just a few years later, French-born Camille has spread her vivacious colours and playful patterns everywhere, from Mauritius to Sydney to New York, and the scale of her work just keeps on growing. Recently, she created the Walala Lounge, which transformed a grey London street in London’s Mayfair into an eye-popping, open-air living room. We caught up with her to find out more.

Tell us what it was like working on the Walala Lounge.

That was a really nice project. It was the first time I’d worked in 3D sculpture. Originally, they wanted a zebra crossing, which I had already done [for Better Bankside]. But when I went there I saw there was no seating area and I wanted to push myself to do something new. Straight away I thought about doing something open and a bit playful. I think I don’t really follow the rules because I don’t really know how. I’m not a 3D designer or an interior designer, but I think the seating areas work quite nicely, in maybe a childish kind of way.

What did you have to think about when you’re doing large-scale projects, like your SALT of Palmar hotel in Mauritius?

That was quite a mad project because I’d never done anything like it before. It’s always good to tell people what you want to do in terms of projects, because you never know, someone might just say, “Yes, let’s do that together.”