Chapter 01

Ignasi Monreal x' mid/night 00.00

Words by: Júlia Casamitjana / Pictures by: Luciano Insua

Ignasi Monreal

Born in Barcelona. Living between Rome and Lisbon. I’m the laziest hard-working guy you’ll meet. When they ask me what I do for a living, I say that I am a painter because that’s the best thing I do: paint. Sometimes I have to clarify that I don’t paint houses, but the anecdote actually amuses me.

Means? Many: digital painting, oil painting, ceramics, animation, artistic or creative direction. I like to start off with very literal ideas; sometimes they are so obvious to me that they seem brilliant.

01/07
ignasi monreal x mid/night 00.00

Body Essentials by Ignasi Monreal.

What brought you closer to the mid/night 00.00 universe?

I met Nina in Ibiza on the last day of “annus horribilis 2020”. Such was the catharsis of our encounter that we “clicked” immediately, and the collaboration arose organically. I hadn’t spoken Catalan for years and I loved re-discovering these roots. I hadn’t abandoned them, but I wasn’t very close to them either. I was inspired by Nina herself and her project. We belong to a generation which is very fucked up. I was hoping to paint her, so she still has to pose for me one day.

02/07
Ignasi monreal x mid/night 00.00

How does the Solid Routine packaging design materialise?

The design is based on a series of paintings that I did as an exercise when I arrived in Rome. I had been painting digitally for ten years, without even touching a brush, and I wanted to get back to painting with my own hands. Because the city is full of incredible statues, I took up life drawing. You know what I mean.

I also drew postcards within the art of the city. When I saw the photos of the packaging, I thought of putting the boxes one on top of the other so as to create a face. I intended the collection to work as a set, but above all, I wanted to give a sense of fun and playfulness to it.

03/07

Hair Essentials by Ignasi

mid/night 00.00 moves away from the canons of beauty and defends a more thoughtful and sincere perception of oneself. How does Ignasi Monreal see himself?

As someone who is getting older. I don’t even think about that. In a terrible mess, maybe. In my pyjamas.

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And how would you like to be seen? From afar, with a stick.

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What is your most intimate and quiet moment?

I can give you two. The first one is less common. I recently read that the most likely place you can cry in is an aeroplane. This usually happens tome during a long flight, when I look out the window. It is indeed a good time for introspection. The second moment is more recurring. It starts at eleven o’clock at night. When the world goes to sleep, I wake up, although not literally. When there are no e-mails, no noise, when nobody is calling you or bothering you and when not even the postman comes by, that’s when I can really focus and work better, without being interrupted.

04/07
ignasi monreal x mid/night

As the day comes to an end, I think to myself, how did today go? It was kind of fucked up. They have called me for an interview and I have just blurted out a load of bullshit!

Ignasi Monreal Interdisciplinary Artist

Solid Hair Essentials by Ignasi Monreal.

05/07
ignasi monreal x mid/night 00.00

mid/night 00.00 is born at 00.00, at midnight. Nina lights a candle and pre-pares for her beauty routine. They may be simple gestures, but their own repetition can be very powerful. What is your ritual?

A joint before going to sleep. “A little bit of self-criticism” like the anthropophagus city councillor from Almodóvar’s film says. Is it useful? It’s true! As the day comes to an end, I think to myself, how did today go? It was kind of fucked up. They have called me for an interview and I have just blurted out a load of bullshit!

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So, same ceremony for your work?

Yes, it is the moment that inspires me the most to work. If the deadline is approaching, it also helps

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What meaning does natural have for you?

Something that remains in the most similar state to nature’s original.

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How would you represent it?

I would put a strawberry yogurt next to a plain one and I would say: it’s the white one.

06/07
ignasi monreal x mid/night

Do you think that there is a specific area in our brain where we store beauty, everything that excites us and moves us?

Yes. I think it exists and I personally try to live there all the time. It is also one of the reasons why I moved to Rome.

07/07