La Dernière Vague: Surf and Skate Culture in Contemporary Art

Curated by Richard Leydier, 'La Dernière Vague' at Tour Panorama-Friche Belle de mai in Marseille (April 25 – June 9, 2013) brought together over fifty artists whose work is infused with surf, skate, and custom culture. The exhibition explored the philosophy of He'e Nalu (Hawaiian for 'sliding on a wave and merging with it'), emphasizing a Zen-like reverence for nature rather than domination. Works included John Severson's 1964 photograph of a surfer facing a giant wave, Thomas Campbell's 'Dreamtime' (2011), Ari Marcopoulos's 'Ocean Beach' (2005), and Shaun Gladwell's underwater slow-motion choreography 'Pacific Undertow Sequence (Bondi)' (2010). The beatnik spirit of eternal youth and freedom appeared in Ryan McGinley's idyllic photos of adolescents and Jay Nelson's 'Camper Boat' (2010), a prototype for autonomous surfing. Documentary works by Yann Gross ('Kitintale', 2008) showed a skateboarding community in Uganda that saved children from delinquency, while Pierre Michelon's 'Risacca non erra' (2012) portrayed Algerian surfers finding refuge from social and economic hardship. Urban reinvention was evident in Craig R. Stecyk's photos of skaters riding empty pools in Los Angeles and Pierre Descamps's architectural elements turned minimalist sculptures. Other artists included Wilfrid Almendra, Robert Longo, Harmony Korine, Tom Sachs, and Raphaël Zarka.