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Ed Templeton
Wires CrossedApril 15, 2023 – May 5, 2024
BONNEFANTEN MUSEUM, NL & LONG BEACH MUSEUM OF ART, USEd Templeton shows the subculture of skateboarding from 1995 to 2012 through photographs, drawings and texts. He is a photographer, artist and one of the most influential skateboarders of all time.
From triumphs, disasters, boredom, self-medication and toxic masculinity, to sacrifice. Ed Templeton (1972, Garden Grove, California), one of the most influential skateboarders of all time, captured his environment, friends and skate adventures with a 35mm camera from 1995 onwards. Through the detailed visual reports Templeton shares all aspects of his life and the lives of his friends and colleagues. They are not caricatures of unruly kids, but profound personalities, searching for themselves and for their place in life, at the most spectacular locations. The images form a visual time capsule of a fascinating subculture.
“The title Wires Crossed comes from my conviction that as a skateboarder you have to have a wire loose somewhere in your mind. I mean that in a very positive sense. Skateboarding is a physically demanding feat of performance art [...] It's fleeting. That's why photography is necessary: it captures the essence."
- Ed Templeton
Templetons' works surpass both the autobiographical and the documentary. Although he was part of the skateboard scene, he also took an outside view. You could call him a sort of voyeur, like the eye of the storm; quiet and observant, while life whirls around him. Templeton looks for beauty in the unusual; honest and unpolished. He often paints the backgrounds of his photos or adds text to them, placing extra focus on a subject and the person. Through this signature, he leaves an indelible impression, just as he did as a professional skateboarder.
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Installation views
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