Even though my dreams of being a pro-kick ass skateboarder were curtailed early in life due to a complete lack of co-ordination and a general fear of bodily harm as a result of a broken hand, I still love anything to do with skateboarding.

Opening on Thursday night, Ambush Gallery in Sydney are presenting Beg, Borrow, Steal – a celebration of skateboarding culture and creativity via photographic exposé.

“‘’Beg, Borrow, Steal’ is a photographic exploration of the people, places and the creations behind the D.I.Y skateboarding movement as viewed through the eyes of Tristan Still.

Skateboarding and photography have shared an intertwined history in Tristan’s life since the age of sixteen. Armed with a Pentax Spotmatic F (on permanent loan from his father) and sharing a cheap and nasty Kmart skateboard with his close friend Lynch, Tristan’s foray into the world of skateboarding and photography began.

Driven by a passion for exploration, skateboarding embodied freedom and raw energy, and at the same time provided shapes that were full of tension and beauty and could be captured in time by the lens. To Tristan, photography and skateboarding begged the question – what
is possible? In the past fourteen years, Tristan’s yearn to explore and learn has led him to squat skateparks in Spain and the Netherlands, to employ the use of the world’s largest mobile Polaroid camera, to exhibit a solo show at the Australian Centre for photography and, in recent years, to teach photography and digital imaging at the University of New South Wales College of Fine Arts.

Often synonymous with anarchic ideology – an affront to government, authority and corporate endorsement (i.e. those who will tolerate skateboarding as long as they can make money from it) – D.I.Y. skateboarding has promoted autonomy and self-sustainability by fueling new creative endeavours into unused places. It aims to recycle the built environment, including old factories, vacant lots and abandoned high-schools, and transform them into new spaces of true creative energy. The truly dedicated even transform their lounge rooms, kitchens and bedrooms into skateboarding spaces to push the boundaries of what’s possible.”

Looks rad.

Who: Tristan Still
What: Bed, Borrow, Steal solo photographic exhibition
Where: Ambush Gallery, 4a James Street, Waterloo, NSW
When: Show opens Thursday 21st October @ 6pm, runs til 30th October

Via Leeloo. See more details on the Ambush Gallery website.