Ed Templeton's 'Wires Crossed' Chronicles 1990s Skateboarding Subculture Through Photographs and Ephemera

Ed Templeton's 2023 book 'Wires Crossed' blends memoir and documentary to capture the DIY, punk-infused skateboarding subculture of the 1990s and early 2000s. Illustrated with photographs, collages, texts, maps, and ephemera from Templeton's journals, it provides an insider's view of a subculture in formation. Templeton, a professional skateboarder, two-time World Skateboarding champion, photographer, and artist, gained early recognition through the Beautiful Losers collective at Aaron Rose's Alleged Gallery in Manhattan's Lower East Side. The 264-page hardback, published on May 23, 2023, includes 278 images and ISBN 9781597115360, measuring 8.6 x 11 x 1.25 inches. It explores Templeton's journey as an image-maker and the lives of professional skateboarders touring globally, with interviews adding detail about road life pressures and pleasures. Templeton, born in Los Angeles in 1972, has published over twenty photography books and exhibited worldwide at venues like Roberts and Tilton in Los Angeles, Modern Art in London, and Palais de Tokyo in Paris. He is considered part of the Beautiful Losers group, which mixed graffiti, skate culture, and art in the 1990s. The book features insights from professional skateboarders Brian Anderson, Erik Ellington, and Elissa Steamer, along with Justin Regan and Deanna Templeton. In Thrasher Magazine, Templeton described the work as a time capsule of an era in skateboarding, though not a definitive answer to what drives skaters.