Get ready to ride the wave.Peter Walker’s suite of original, hand crafted wooden surfboards provide a glimpse into the marine vehicle’s design evolution.
Paying homage to the surfboard’s origins in the Hawaiian’s long wooden planks used for ‘wave sliding’ or he’e nalu, Walker combines his furniture designer/maker background and his surfing experiences to create stunning boards that have been, in many ways, transformed from the utilitarian object to works of art.
This exhibition includes a variety of original plain wood Hawaiian-inspired boards, plus boards such as 8 ft Swastika and Finless Double-ender which incorporate intricate inlaid marquetry demonstrating Walker’s discipline and fine craftsmanship.
For further play between old and new, Walker has collaborated with a select group of artists to express their ideas of adornment. Ranging from Stephen Bowers’ antipodean willow pattern of beach culture, Gerry Wedd’s coral-like magnification of Paulownia wood cells to the culturally inspired board of Phil Hayes who appropriates Chinese characters with the ubiquitous Magpie, as well as Quentin Gore’s paisley pattern indicative of Indian henna painting designs.
But do not be fooled by mere surfaces, these boards can all be used to carve up a fluid path across a shifting wave. A perfectly balanced resolution of sport, ecology and craft.
For details on the exhibition check out : www.jamfactory.com.au
and the next post.
