Skateboarding is having a moment. After being confirmed for the 2020 Olympics, the once underground counter culture is receiving the athletic consideration it deserves. Supplementing this newly-found attention, an exhibition is opening in London celebrating the phenomena of skateboarding. Titled Against The Grain: Skate Culture and the Camera, this show is forged from the photographs, films and magazines that documented the movement. The subculture’s history will be reviewed from Southern California pools in the 70’s to the evolution of urban architecture skateboarding. The photographers and filmmakers featured are well-known within the community, including pioneering figures such as Spike Jonze, C. R. Stecyk III, and Glen E. Friedman.

Archival imagery from publications such as Thrasher, TransWorld and SkateBoarder will also be present. The collection of artists and media selected for ATG were pivotal in the documentation and circulation of information about skateboarding over the years. Curated and produced by Jamie Marie Davis and Frankie Shea, the duo focused on taking a behind the scenes look of the cultural shifts associated with the sport, and how each change contributed to it’s now international scope. The show will open July 7th in London and will travel to North American in 2019 and Tokyo in 2020. 

Words: Paola de Oliveira