From modart issue #10
Itinerant is a word that can be easily attached to board cultures; wandering, working here, then there, migratory, unsettled, roving, roaming … often like the birds, following the sun towards the deep south. Last year Volcom holed up down south in their Hossegor shop, and let all the itinerant inhabitants of this beach town take a look at exhibitions from four of their talented artists.
The success of these fixed features, encouraged Volcom to let the presentation of the work morph into something more similar to the source of inspiration, and the exhibitions became itinerant and intertwined at the same time as Volcom regrouped art work from Pierre Marre (Fr), Ben Brough (USA), Ozzie Wright (AUS) and Martin Fischer (CZH), putting together a selection for a show that would set up camp in five European cities during 2006.
Itinerant and instable, the show consisted of approximately 30 artworks, bios of the 4 artists and descriptions of their relation to the Volcom family. Every stop was a community event; packing stores with guests who were invited to take in the art, the edibles, the drinks and live music.
After the opening party, the exhibition stayed in each shop for no longer than a month. Those who got an itch to transport a piece to their home wall were told that some work was available for purchase, but not until the end of the tour. From start to finish, tour art stayed in tact and together, allowing every city to soak in the same images from different angles.
While company after company scrambles to get in on the undefined art scene, Volcom has supported the arts since the inception of the brand back in 1991, continuing to showcase friends, team riders and employees artwork, stating that this has always been a priority for the brand – supporting friends and family who inspire them … and eventually us. None of the work in this show was intended to appear with the rest; all created separately, but all intended to go on the walls of the Volcom Store in Hossegor (France), eventually resulting in the stimulating juxtaposition of four very different bodies of work.
The driving force behind the Instable Artshow, was a will to enlarge the audience with access to these pieces on a pan-European scale, and unite communities and clients, drawing the brand in the sand to the backdrop of good times and skillful expression.
Words: HL Photos: Volcome
