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SHOOTING SKATER IN AUSTRALIA

Jan 12, 2009

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Skater is a project that looks at skater culture and the various environments in which skaters congregate. Much of my work explores notions of unconscious expression and the vulnerability of existing within a group or at the margins of a group. For me, the skater typifies both extremes of this existence. Many skaters speak of a solitary mind space while skating; of zoning into another state of consciousness. To make these portraits, I asked the skaters to place themselves within this meditative space. When our minds begin to wander, we lose touch with our conscious actions. I started the project in Melbourne. Living in Fitzroy the skateboard was a common means of transport for many of the friends we made in the area. It started like most projects do... I wondered how something would look if I photographed it. In this case it was the zoned out state of mind I had experienced when skating.

At first I asked a few friends if I could photograph them and was surprised that they had experienced the same state of mind. From then on the project gathered steam and it spread through woord of mouth around my local area. My partner Andy and I would wander around the city looking for locations and would often meet skaters along the way who were happy to be part of the project.