Be Free

Caroline Avila

Interview by C. VanWinkle
May 24, 2024

What was the prompt that you responded to? Can you describe it for me?

You sent me a painting. Purple, pink, a little bit of brown. It was so interesting because the combination of colors was not the traditional colors that you’d use for something like that. The image was very childish and I love that. The first thing that I did when I received the image was ask my five-year-old daughter what she saw in it. She told me “I see a bird. And I see flowers that are coming out of roots.” I wanted to go deeper, so I asked her, “How do you feel about it? What is happening in there?” And she told me, “It's a beautiful bird that's flying and that is going wherever he wants.”

So that was my point of inspiration: the image itself but also what she described. My personality is super childish. Here I am at Chuck E. Cheese, playing with my daughter like I'm five years old. [Note: True story, that’s where she was during the interview.] I believe that children are the ones that have the real truth. They are more pure, closer with God and the universe and nature. They are not contaminated by this whole society and its ideas.

So it started that way. I printed the image, large, and put it up in my living room. Every day, the whole day, it was there for me to see it and see it and see it. I work spontaneously on everything I do. I'm an industrial designer and I did some courses in fashion design, but I like to work in the moment. I do a lot of things: I paint, I illustrate, I love photography, I do interior design, but my passion is fashion. For me it’s not about making clothes. I’m making art; sculptural, wearable art pieces.

That’s cool! I’m curious about that because I really love things that are difficult to categorize. When I look at this piece of yours, I see a painting, I see clothes, I see sculpture, I see an installation. I think that's really interesting.

I like to do many things, but I don't have much time right now because I homeschool my daughter, which is a difficult thing that takes a lot of time. So I have to focus on one thing. I want to paint or do furniture or something. Let's focus on something, on I'm doing right now.

The purpose of all of this is sustainable art. My work has always been inspired by one of my idols, Vivienne Westwood, the Climate Revolution. I'm always working on sustainable pieces, always recycling, always upcycling. I don't make new clothes or new things from scratch; I work with things that are already made. I don't use more water. I don’t use more fabric. I try to be the most sustainable I can be. It's difficult to be 100%, but I try my best. Fashion has become all about fast fashion, and the planet is suffering because of that. What I want to do is make pieces that have meaning and that really make you feel happy, make you feel good about yourself, describe yourself, make you feel comfortable and secure, let you say something with it.

The pieces are not only wearable, but they’re also something you can decorate your home with. If you are creative and you put that piece in a corner somewhere in your house, it would look like a sculpture, like a piece of art. That's why I like painting clothes, adding different materials. I'm always trying new things and failing and then trying again. I love it.

I learn so much from failure. I used to be self-conscious about it and now I love it because that's how I grow.

Failure is the only opportunity we have to learn and to grow.

I totally agree.

I also don't like defining my work because it gives me different ways to be. I like modeling, performing, being a clown in my house, dressing up, acting like I'm Italian or whatever, you know? [laughs] I love it!

You mentioned working with different materials. What are some of the materials that are in this piece?

Paper flowers, fabric paint, feathers but not real feathers. They’re synthetic feathers.

What about the hat?

Oh my God, that was something that came out in the moment. That was a top! That's why I like working spontaneously so much. Of course I learned in my University to sketch things first and then follow the sketch, but that limits us so much.

I originally imagined the mannequin wearing a big panty with a top, and then the whole dress would open, something like that. But then when I closed the dress, it was so elegant that way, and I wondered what to do with the top. I realized it works as a hat, but it’s a very big hat! It’s so costumey. I love custom design, and I'm a maximalist. For me, more is more, less is a bore. But at the same time, I know when it's too much. And the hat was too much to be elegant, so I reshaped it with some needles. So the top became a hat.

It's great. When I got your email, I downloaded the images on my computer and then looked through them as a gallery. As I clicked through one at a time, there was a mannequin which was just sort of standing there, but then there were some closer shots, and then the mannequin moved a little, there was a hat, there was a jacket, and then the mannequin was you! And you were on the floor, and you were posing. I don't know if you intended for them to be seen in that order, but that was my experience, and I really enjoyed the narrative of it. There are just so many different looks and perspectives from this one piece!

Thank you! I'm thrilled that you enjoyed the experience my art created for you. That's the heart of my work: crafting interactive experiences that resonate with those who engage with it, whether through observation, wearability, or interaction.

Spontaneity drives my creative process. Initially, I envisioned showcasing wearable art pieces on a mannequin, but as I worked, I wondered, “Would these pieces transcend costume status? Could they be worn daily?” So I decided to model them myself, bringing the art to life. As an artist and performer, I reveled in the process.

[laughs] I bet you did!

For me, art's beauty lies in its subjective nature, diverse perspectives, thoughts, and opinions. I strive to capture this essence in my creations. In this piece, notice the transformation of the bird [from the prompt] into an owl, symbolizing evolution and interpretation. The first thing that I did [for this piece] was an owl. That's kind of my style of owls, but all of them are different. Most of them are in black; I like using Chinese ink to make them.

What draws you to owls anyway?

I’ve been attracted to them since I was very young. I wanted to buy stickers of owls and notebooks of owls and everything about owls, and I didn't know why. I was young, I just liked owls. Then when the internet became a big thing, I got my first computer when I was like 13 years old. I started researching about owls and then I knew why. I’d always seen owls in libraries or at school readings because the meaning of owls is wisdom. They’re also known as night animals, and I’m a night person, so of course I identified with that and the owl became my animal.

Also, they’re magic and I consider myself a magical person. I believe it. I feel that I’m very lucky. Sometimes you say, “That person is very lucky,” but it’s often not like that; that person has worked a lot for what she has. But I have good luck in things that are not even hard work. Right here, they have those machines that are like a waste of money [pantomiming the coin-operated claw machines at Chuck E. Cheese]. They can’t grab anything so it's a waste of money, but we tried it twice and twice we won! Life is showing me that all the time.

I only just met you and I'm not surprised to hear that you're a magical person. I have one more question for you. Now that you are on this side of our process, what is your advice to a new person getting their prompt today?

Don't think about it too much. Don't let your mind get into it, art is about heart. Whatever you see in the moment, whatever you imagine, that's it. There's no good or bad. There's no right or wrong in what we are doing. It's just showing our feelings and our vision, whatever that is.

More views of Be Free:

Call Number: G119VA | G120VA.aviBe

Caroline Avila, a Miami-based artist with a rich cultural background and a passion for creative expression. Born in Colombia, I honed my skills with a degree in Industrial Design and additional training in Fashion Design. My professional journey has taken me from serving as Creative Director, to founding my own company, Tropicália, a platform dedicated to showcasing emerging artists and as a brand that designs and create sustainable, one-of-a-kind art pieces. I continually seek new ways to push boundaries and collaborate with like-minded creatives.