Since 2009 Melbourne-based photographer Nikki Toole has been
making photographic portraits of skateboarders around the
world. Nikki discovered that skating allowed her to slip into a
meditative zone, and she wanted to ask the question, did other
skaters feelthis disconnect. 300 skaters and three years later, she
reveals that the identity ofthe lone skateboarderis part of a deeper
connection.
»Much of my work explores notions of unconscious expression
and the vulnerability of existing within a group or at the margins
of a group. For me,the skater typifies both extremes of this
existence.Many skaters speak of a solitary mind space while skating;of
zoning into another state of consciousness.To make these
portraits, I asked the skaters to place themselves within this
meditative space.«
Nikki Toole was born in Scotland. She exhibited in Australia,
Britain,USA, and Germany. Toole’s works have been selected for
the National Portrait Gallery’s National Photographic Portrait
Prize five times. Her work is held in private and gallery collections
worldwide. Skater was exhibited at The National Portrait
Gallery of Australia in 2012 and Portrait Gallery of Australia in
2012 and toured during 2013.