Artist: Thomas Evans, aka Detour | Denver, CO
Detour is an all-around creative specializing in large scale public art, interactive visuals, portraiture, immersive spaces, and creative directing. His focus is to create work where art and innovation meet. A born collaborator and “military brat,” Detour pulls from every conceivable experience that shapes his landscapes and perspectives. Explaining Detour’s work is no easy task, as ongoing experimentations in visual art, music, and interactive technologies have his practice continually expanding. With his ever-evolving approach to art, Detour’s focus is on expanding customary views of creativity and challenging fine-art paradigms by mixing traditional mediums with new approaches—all the while opening up the creative process from that of a singular artist, to one that thrives on multi-layered collaboration and viewer participation.
Detour’s West Allis mural is five stories tall on the Lamplight Inn building. The mural was inspired by a picture of one of his friends, John Chapman, and Chapman's son, Britton.
Detour hopes people will relate to the piece through their own happy memories with loved ones.
"It’s really like you’re passing it down to the next generation, you have on your shoulder, you’re carrying it on," Detour said. "It’s (of) my friend, so it’s people that look like me and everything, so it’s sort of reflective of that representation, that’s really what I wanted to do."
