Evan Maragkoudakis spoke to us once before, when we delved into the ingredients that went into his life and produced his unique eye for depicting the grubby idiosyncrasies of skateboarding, on and off the board.
Today we see Evan return with his own solo exhibition entitled “Woodkids” in which the interplay of light and shadow, depicts the good, the rad and the gnarly of skateboarding in Athens.
Evan, What’s new?
Everything is going pretty smooth. I’m currently doing production stuff for “Woodkids”. Trying to find time and do test prints, find the right frames, scan and edit properly, etc etc. It’s pretty hectic but I love the procedure.
What’s the concept?
I have been following skaters in Athens for quite some time now. I wasn’t really planning to display the images but at some point I realized that having cultivated some sort of personal style, the images did blend together quite nicely. That started to show up around last summer. I started seeing a conceptual line, the black and white shadowplay, harsh edges and silhouettes that kind of describe living in Athens in a really sketchy time economically.
Go on…
I started focusing on the rebellious side of being a young skater living and rolling in Athens. You really have a ton of obstacles to overcome, as well as to skate, and you need to stick out. I’m pretty satisfied with the outcome to be honest. It feels like I somehow managed to distinguish the skater from the urban landscapes and surroundings.
What do you hope Woodkids will bring to Athens?
To be brutally honest, I hope Woodkids doesn’t change a single thing. This project does not aim to sensitize or inform anybody about what these kids do while you live your 9 to 5 life. If people tried to get these kids off the streets and try to “help” them in the slightest systemic way, I would have bluntly failed to preserve the true essence of being a street skater. It’s like the Indians. Once everybody discovered their civilization, they tried to westernize them or even worse, lead them to extinction.
So what’s the point?
The point of “Woodkids” is to examine youth, a value we all must learn to keep alive within us. Be a skater that sees past the obstacles and the problems, or be a painter, a dancer, a marketing manager, a lawyer, whatever you want, but be true to what you do and don’t let anything or anyone pull you down in the darkness.
How does this connect to your own personal journey?
I’ve honestly spend half my life on a skateboard, exploring, meeting people and going through my own personal journey and self realization. This might sound a bit over the edge for people who haven’t seen the potential skateboarding has when it comes to self development, but I’ve witnessed people change both towards good and bad due to skateboarding. Having this project in my personal assignment arsenal, will always be a kind reminder to keep my head clear and learn to take the positive traits of anything, while at the same time manage to block all negativity.
Respect man. I think skateboarding lives in paradox. That’s why its popularity comes and goes, but it will never truly be a successful “sport”. As soon as it gets cool, it’s uncool again. As soon as it gets successful, it’s failed. You know?
These are exactly my thoughts. It might sound a bit pessimistic, but I can foresee some weird days for skateboarding ahead in the near future. The blooming of social media, the insane amount of footage and content coming out every single day. Don’t get me wrong, that’s wonderful to witness and be a part of, but I remember watching a skate film or a photograph and chatting about it with the homies for days, probably months.
Is this a good or a bad future?
Everything has a good and a bad side. Skateboarding is wonderful, no matter what. We don’t mind the tons of corporations stepping on our ground everyday, they’ll soon find a new trend to suck blood off. We don’t care of the Thrasher shirts being worn by people who have no idea what it stands for, they’ll soon go back to their branded shirts when it all fades away.
Neither do we mind skateboarding going public worldwide with thousand of dollars in contest prizes, sponsors bombarding you on the daily and having the “sport” being run by an Olympic committee. I’m telling you man, it’s all 100% cool with us. At the end of the day, when they all move on to the new trend, we’ll still be here because we know what skateboarding is all about. And this is what “Woodkids” stands for. The “Woodkids” do not care.
What does this future look like?
For people who have settled on their role in the skateboarding community nothing might change. As far as kids go, misleading lifestyles are just around the corner. Skaters living the high life, the materialistic approach, trying to exclusively and personally profit from skateboarding will certainly pull more kids into that mentality, but for all the wrong reasons.
Skateboarding is, was and will be a way for a community to bond. Now you got national flags in the game, competition that gets rewarded on an ethnic level with stupidly large prizes and whatnot. Again, I don’t mind, but when you see yourself possibly in those ranks, the amount of pressure and unreasonable commitment to a bubble-like career tends to be self-harming. I don’t see the exploitation ending soon thus making the future a bit unstable for those who take up skateboarding today.
What really inspires you about skateboarding today?
I get heavily inspired by the ones who do. People who just do things for the sake of always being in motion. DIY spot makers, filmers, photographers, artists and whatever floats your boat. It seems like we live in times where the ones who do are also the risk takers. There’s nothing more inspirational than people who sacrifice time, money and energy to do what they love. I hail them all.
I often find myself being a bit discouraged when I have to face the reality of being a doer. Coordinating people who have no clue of what’s happening, getting to face the more technical aspect of doing certain things. Yet again, when you overcome these difficulties, there’s only a ton of inspiration left for you to carry on.
Carry on, Evan. Keep Pushing…
