Denver artist Detour reflects on his career, creative processes and DIA sculpture

Feb. 13, 2025

Photo by Davide Baraldi

Denver-based multimedia artist Thomas “Detour” Evans’ latest piece has been permanently on display at Denver International Airport since mid-January, marking another milestone in his career full of colorful and community-focused public work.

Titled “It’s Not What You Take, It’s What You Bring Back,” the hanging rainbow-colored and infinity-shaped sculpture made from upcycled luggage can be found in Concourse B-East near Gate B60, according to a post on DIA’s Instagram page.

Exploring “It’s Not What You Take, It’s What You Bring Back”

According to Evans and a DIA press release, he designed, modeled and presented this piece in response to a 2022 sculpture call.

While designing this installation, Evans looked to his own travel experience and the airport setting for inspiration.

“The DIA piece came from me traveling a lot and then having worked at a site-specific area at the airport I wanted everyone to really relate to, and connect with and be a part of,” Evans said.

Evans described the project as a portrait that shares peoples’ stories through their donated luggage; he said it also represents the idea that people are on an infinite life journey and each carry things with them throughout it.

“It’s a way of just doing a portrait but different when it comes to the foundation, and this foundation is just upcycled luggage,” Evans said.

Evans also wanted to add elements into his work that represent Colorado.

He collected over 200 pieces of luggage and spray painted each one a bright color to create the sculpture’s rainbow palette, which symbolizes Colorado’s sunrises and sunsets.

“Using upcycled luggage was one of the keys, and then really just having fun with the colors. Like, using sunrise [and] sunset as a way of just talking about Colorado,” Evans said.

The sculpture also features items that are associated with Colorado, many of which Evans made himself.

Some of the items include gold medals he created to represent Colorado’s sports scene, a 3D printed version of Denver’s Blue Bear statue and a snowboard he sourced from Craigslist.

Working on “It’s Not What You Take, It’s What You Bring Back” allowed Evans to experiment with new materials. He shared the process he went through to prepare a Denver Nuggets jersey for the installation.

“I had to put it in resin, and sort of shape it out and build, like, a little aluminum sort of scaffolding for it inside that you don't see so that it can keep its shape over time," Evans said.

In addition to the installation, Evans created some now sold-out art prints featuring luggage and Colorado-themed items that he scanned and 3D printed. He is also selling the spray paint cans used to create the piece, all of which come signed and in a display box.

Evans’ creative journey and community emphasis

Evans sees great importance in building communities through his work and for his career. For him, fostering a sense of community can involve everything from working with a team of creatives on aspects of his projects to listening to local stories for meaningful inspiration.

"Because a lot of my work is public-facing, that's really big for me because I want to try to create work that the community resonates with, and it's more meaningful too because they connect with it. Future generations will hopefully connect with it,” Evans said.

Evans became a full-time professional artist in 2014. According to his website, he has worked on everything from murals that honor Denver sports teams to interactive musical sculptures. He has painted large-scale pieces and portraits for cities across the nation.

While he didn’t study art during his time at the University of Colorado Denver, Evans has engaged in the arts since he was a kid; he was part of a military family, and art allowed him to connect with people in each new location he moved to.

“I was always moving as a kid, so art was like a way of just connecting with people and making friends. Regardless of your background or who you are, it's like art can always be that connective tissue that you sort of have a connection with, with anyone around the world, even though you may not speak the same language,” Evans said.

Evans’ ties to art and dance communities during his childhood also inspired his artist name. During his time living in Germany, Evans was very interested in breakdancing and said the name Detour came from a break-dancing-focused VHS tape.  

In high school, he started learning to airbrush shirts and signed them as Detour. He said it has been his artist name for many endeavors and thinks it aligns with his creative mission to explore unconventional aspects of art.

Providing professional support through additional career ventures

Evans often finds himself working through creative problems, and sometimes solving them means creating a new tool. Many of these tools, like 3D-printed circle makers and mural caps, are available to purchase on his Detour Tools website.

“I don't have to go to an online site or buy something else. I can make it myself, and make it custom and change it whenever I need to,” he said.

Evans also supports other artists through his social media platforms and blog writeups; he posts art tips, tutorials and project updates.

“I just want to be the artist I would want to meet because, you know, other artists have given me a lot of tips and resources that have helped me a lot. So, I just want to build a better community when it comes to the arts," Evans said.

His advice for any artists trying to figure out their path is to prioritize creating, learning and making the most out of life.

“If you really just focus on trying to grow as a human being and yourself, you'll start to find topics that you resonate with, and you can sort of figure out how to create work based off of that. But a lot of times it's just painting, practicing executing pieces and just, like, actually completing those pieces too because that's a whole other discussion right there,” he said.

More information on Evans’ career, projects and art-related products can be found on his website. He is also active on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.