Fabian Lavater
Fabian travels, surfs, and creates art. It all started over a decade ago, when friends convinced him to join them for two weeks in a surf camp on the Atlantic coast of France which he only agreed to because of the supposedly wild parties. While the parties didn’t disappoint, what he didn’t expect was that ever since that first wave, he was hooked! Ironically, while the rest of the friends never pursued surfing again, it was just about to begin for Fabian.
He developed a passion for art early and has been drawing ever since he could hold a pencil. However, after failing to get into art school Fabian pursued a degree in economics & sustainable development instead. It was a combination of attempting to create a wave tattoo design for himself (which he luckily never actually tattooed) and finding contemporary freelance artists through Instagram that inspired him to express his love for waves, the sea and surfing and started sharing it on the socials. In a way, art was his way to feel closer to the ocean than he actually was living in Switzerland.
Meanwhile, the love for waves led him to an around the world trip (New Zealand, Australia, California, & Hawaii), made him explore the coastlines of Europe & Northern Africa and even allowed him to live & work in the surfer town of Biarritz for a while. Having his base in Switzerland though, he remains an ocean tourist or “being in a long-distance relationship with the ocean” as he likes to call it. Losing his corporate job due to the pandemic provided the perfect push to pursue art full time after sharing his art on Instagram for years and gathering a large following.
Fabian admires the M2O, the dedication of the athletes as well as the meaning it has for the people.
“I really love Hawaii, the remoteness, the ocean culture and the depth and drama of the kaiwi channel. It was such an honor to create this year’s art and I couldn’t be prouder. I wanted to create a minimalist but colorful piece that still illicits the crazy task of crossing from one island to another in unwavering conditions. I really hope to come back to Hawaii one day, witnessing the race, chasing some waves and maybe exhibit my art… who knows what the future holds”.
Fabian approaches his art in an iconic minimalist and colorful way. Although currently landlocked in Switzerland he continues to hit the road to surf in France and all over Europe, never one to fight the pull to the sea and the waves, and surf culture. All of which is expressed through his art.
