Kevin Ávila: from urban art to the thesis and from the thesis back to the streets
Kevin Ávila is a student of the last year of the Graphic Design career. He says that as a child he liked to scratch the walls of his house and at eleven he began to paint graffiti in the houses of Cuenca.
Kevin enters the world of urban art thanks to a collective known as "La mata de frío asesino".
“It's cool, because the name refers to the cold Cuenca that kills. We like to be endemic and highlight cultural traditions ”, he explained.
He says that - although he often collaborates with "La mata" - he currently belongs to the group "The night club". In his organization he is known as Nelio and, when he draws on the walls, he signs under that pseudonym.
At night, Kevin leaves his home to illustrate graffiti and stickers in the center of Cuenca. Sometimes, the police hit him with the baton and the ambulance drivers get out of the car to get his attention.
Avila considers himself passionate about culture; for this reason, his final thesis was entitled "Development of a graphic campaign BTL (below the line) applied to various audiences", the same sought to promote endemic orchids of Ecuador in a non-invasive way.
"Basically, in my thesis I tried to apply a BTL campaign; that is, it is aimed at a specific market segment. I want to break that concept so I set my campaign to different audiences. "
The thesis of Ávila consisted of a campaign with hand-drawn illustrations. He mixed several artistic techniques such as: graffiti, silkscreen, calligraphy, hand-printing; drawing tools such as watercolors, ink, feathers, and drew seven orchids along the route of the fourteenth Cuenca Biennial.
Those interested in appreciating Ávila's thesis could acquire a map to navigate the central streets of Cuenca. "The dynamics were based on seeing the numbers that were inside the booklet, they guided people towards my designs; after seeing the drawing they gave you a sticker to mark the points, "Ávila explained and added:
"The magic of the drawing was appreciated thanks to 3D glasses. These glasses extracted the colors of the painting so that the letters, which were written on the flowers, can be seen separated from the orchids ".
Ávila says that his goal was to propose new forms of advertising that do not invade people. "I want to sell orchids to people without feeling obligated to buy them, I seek to generate marketing based on experiences."
That's why in one of his works entitled Oncidium Sharry Baby He used a liposoluble extract mixed with ink so that the person who comes close to the drawing can perceive the chocolate aroma, which is the true smell of the plant.
Kevin was inspired by the scientific name of orchids to name his thesis graffiti: Purple Phalaenopsis, Bulbophyllum Rothschild, Dracula Vampira, Cattleya Durigan, Oncidium Spectasissium, Oncidium Sharry Baby and its flagship project the Oncidium Chola Cuencana.
"My most special work is` la Cholita`, because it was the most difficult to elaborate. First, I made a sketch by hand; second, I wrote it; third, I passed it to the illustrator to print it layer by layer until the drawing acquired the desired tone ", concluded the artist.
