By Mary Jane San Buenaventura (seriously, that’s MJ’s real name)
As Y2K paranoia fizzled out faster than the opened bottles of champagne, Euro skateboard company Cliché entered the millennium by releasing their first set of boards adorned with the artwork of Fernando Elvira, aka Cocobula. While relatively unknown at the time, Cocobula went on to do four groundbreaking collaborations with Cliché. Additionally, he handled the art direction on the two videos that really put Cliché on the map: Freedom Fries in 04 and The Gypsy Tour 2 in 07, which to a great extent made his highly original art the visual trademark of Cliché. Likewise, Cliché’s exposure through these collaborations helped establish Fernando as one of the most sought after artists in Europe.
I met Fernando during one of his art shows in Barcelona. Considering that I was only familiar with the Cliché credits, it was refreshing to view the depth of his artistic range. Organic, modern, and contagious are just some of the words that come to mind looking at his work. Organic in the sense that he could pick up something as mundane as a metal paper clip and reinvent it into a masterpiece; modern in the subtle way he incorporates the benefits of technology into his work; but especially contagious in that I had to get in touch with him and tap into the person behind this creativity.
Where are you from?
I am from Algorta, in the Basque Country. Currently I live in Algatocín, a small village in Andalucía, in southern Spain.
How did you develop your artistic inclinations?
I have been creative since I was a little kid. I think of it as playing. I don’t want to stop playing.
You seem to do a lot of traveling. How much of that influences your art?
Traveling is a very important part of my creative process. I don’t travel as much as I used to, but I still do it and I often step out of my comfort zone to broaden my perspectives. Traveling is the one the highest forms of self-education and a source of inspiration. I always have a new place on my mind of where I want to go next.
The first time I was introduced to your work was when Fred [French Fred Mortagne of Flip Skateboards] gave Mackenzie a copy of Freedom Fries one Christmas. I normally don’t watch skate videos, but the art direction really caught my eye. How did the relationship with Cliché come about?
I am a long-time friend of Javier Mendizabal, who has been a pro rider for Cliché for many years. Through him they asked me to design a line of boards, and they loved what I did. That was the beginning of our collaboration.
Speaking of which, your last exhibition in Barcelona, “Que Corra El Aire” was done with Javier. How did that come together?
While I was staying with Javi in Barcelona, one day after skating we went out to have a few drinks and ran into Hun Deok Lee who is a legendary Barcelona skater. We all went to a party together that night, and he offered me the opportunity to do a show in his new gallery/skate shop. Since I had already done many solo shows, I thought it would be fun to do it with Javi. He loved the idea and we went for it.
How was it working together?
It was intense to be in Barcelona for a whole month and sleep every day in the studio. But the show looked really nice. I was surprised to see how good Javi’s wall was, especially for a guy who is a beginner in the art world.
What is “Mi Toxina Favorita?”
“Mi Toxina Favorita” is the name of a skate video project that I want to direct. I am still negotiating the whole deal so I can’t give you much more info. Sorry.
Alright. In addition to doing board graphics for Cliché and the Spain-based Alai, you also did a line of boards, wheels, et al for Sugar, one of LA’s underground skate companies. How did you hook up with Marko the Machine?
I’ve done a lot of board graphics for Sugar Skateboards, also t-shirt designs and wheels. They contacted me out of the blue and I started sending them cardboard tubes with original artworks. Marko is a cool Slovenian guy living the American dream… Respect!
How about the work you did at the Quiksilver bowl in Malmö, Sweden?
The bowl was a really cool project. In 06 I took part in a group show in Malmö called “Le Boxx.” It was curated by Pontus Alv and Nils Svensson. We had a great time, so they proposed my name to the City of Malmö and Quiksilver to be the artist to paint the bowl. The organizers saw my website and said yes. The mural is a random black and white collection of my graphics and colorful lettering over the stairs that says, “All work should be fun and joyful to perform, anything else is unacceptable.”
Is an artist also a salesman?
This is a very good question. Yes, I find it difficult to market my work, but at the end I think it is all in my mind. Just gotta believe firmly in myself. An artist has to be a mystic, but also a businessman. I am just learning as I go.
One of your blog entries reads, “The real secret to getting whatever you want is to want without need.” Meaning?
It’s good to have goals and dreams, but in order to make them happen we have to somehow be detached from them. When we try too hard or put too much emphasis on getting something, the object we desire seems to go away. We want things? Yes. But we are going to be happy anyway, so we are not stressed or bonded by need. And when we are truly relaxed and in the present moment that is when we can aspire to get what we want.
What influences would you like your art to have on the world?
I would love for my art to inspire people to de-clutter their lives and to be more creative, to experiment more, and to “echarle más cojones a la vida.”
Technology versus nature.
Technology should always be a means to serve people and the planet.
Algo más?
Gracias a todos.
Explore Fernando’s work at www.cocobula.com.
Mr. Roboto’s artist……..