While he is mostly known for his team of monsters, the ‘We Kill You’ show in Toronto at the Gordon Daniel Gallery titled ‘I Lose Track of My Mind Sometimes’ also featured portraiture painted on broken skateboard decks.
As an avid skateboarder, Justin Pape and his friends would break their decks regularly. And as an active environmentalist, he hated the idea of just throwing the broken boards away. This led to the idea of using them as canvases for his artwork.
Portraits featured at the show are based on characters found in cult movies like “Kill Bill,” “Life Aquatic,” “Donny Darko,” “Rushmore,” “The Goonies,” “Amelie,” and “Pulp Fiction.”
Why This Trend Is Growing
- Sustainable Art
- The use of recycled skateboards as a canvas opens up possibilities for creating sustainable art installations and products.
- Upcycling
- Repurposing broken skateboards as canvases for art is an example of upcycling and can inspire innovative product design using other materials that are typically discarded.
- Pop Culture Art
- The popularity of the portraits based on characters from cult films suggests a trend towards pop culture-inspired art that can appeal to a broad audience.
Industries Being Reshaped
- Art and Design
- Artists and designers could make use of discarded materials as unique canvases for their work and create inspiring environments or products.
- Skateboard Manufacturing
- Skateboard companies could explore upcycling broken boards into new functional products or collaborate with artists to add value to discarded skateboards.
- Pop Culture Merchandise
- Companies that create pop culture merchandise can leverage the trend of pop culture-inspired art and partner with artists to bring unique products to market.
