Taylor White

There’s a great exhibition going on right now at NGV Studio in Melbourne, of which I am privileged to be a part. ‘Board’ explores the evolution of deck graphics and design with a display of work from emerging artists throughout Australia, shown alongside some insanely cool decks, hardware and ephemera from decades past. From the NGV Studio website:

Presenting 1970s & 80s skateboards and ephemera from Tony Hallam’s collection alongside decks created for the exhibition by 50 Australian artists, it explores the evolution of board graphics and design. 



Senior Curator of Contemporary Art Alex Baker states: ‘Tony Hallam’s collection digs deep into the formative years of skate culture during which board graphics evolved from simple lettering to elaborate artwork. Once a professional skateboarder, Hallam has gone to painstaking lengths to track down some of the most important boards in history. On view at NGV Studio are gems such as Tony Hawk’s first signature model (1982) and an early Zephyr board (mid-1970s) personally owned by skateboard legend Stacy Peralta. The selection of skateboards and ephemera in Board allows an insight into skateboarding’s surfing roots through to its cross-fertilisation with punk rock and other renegade sub-cultures. Hallam’s is considered one of the most comprehensive skateboard collections in the world, and the NGV is honoured to present it to both avid skate fans and non-initiates alike. This is an important lesson in another form of art history – one that speaks a language that originated on the streets and is ongoing today.’



Following a recent philosophical dive into the combined states of physical and mental vulnerability I wound up with an image of a dissected boy, his bone, muscle and sinew cracked and exposed. I took advantage of the color and striated surface texture of the deck I was given (it was a red one) and built up the image using ever so thin applications of black, white and transparent yellow acrylic, interspersed with layers of semi-gloss gel to enhance the depth and color and give it an attractive sheen.

See the whole damn thing at NGV Studio in Federation Square from now til 5 February 2012.