Why hello there and thank you for taking to time to read my totally awesome artist statement. So first off, I am a student attending Oasis Skateboard Factory… which is actually a school if you can believe it! But yeah, considering the fact that I’m currently 21 and still in school, I’m glad I have actually found an intriguing program that has practical use and such a unique way to go about earning credits, because now I find myself actually eager to attend and finally finish.
So enough about me, lets talk about this board… I decided to do my own distorted / altered Canadian flag that is shredded and covered in blood, and a bloody handprint as the centerpiece instead of the maple leaf. I have an American flag popping through the rips of the Canadian flag to express the fact that we as a nation are losing our individuality and that we are basically being reduced to being another star on their banner.
The message that I’m portraying is basically that we as Canadians have lost our individuality as a nation, and that over the last 10 years political powers have gotten puppets like Harper, Bush, and Obama to sell all of our natural resources, our borders... and in some cases… our citizens (Marc Emery) and Ultimately they have made the North American Union… so 100% we are just the 51st state of America.
I’m really into dark imagery or art that has a powerful message and has a unique / graphic way to express that message. So with that said, obviously my main inspiration would be Sheppard Fairey (creator of the “Obey” brand) for his iconic art has made him an undisputed legend in street art history. His whole body of works such as his murals, brand, and his style and his political messages are 100% what I could only hope that I could come close to.
Out of the elements & principles of design, I mainly only wanted to focus on contrast because I feel that contrast is what really brings out an images composition and really makes things POP. So I decided to stick with the limited colour pallette of black, white, and different shades of red because I feel that it captures the aggressiveness and emotion I wanted to convey.
This board was crafted with 7 Canadian maple veneers, pressed together with Roarockit technology, then shaped, sanded, tape stenciled, and sprayed to perfect imperfection (ha!) with my own hands with various colours of Montana Black spray paint.
I feel that there is obvious room for improvement to be quite honest. But I’m still rather happy with the overall result, but I need to keep it simple next time.
