Girl Skateboards have been known throughout the skateboarding world for years on account of their indulgence in some of the finest art ever to grace 7-ply maple. Expanding the concept of a skateboard being just a tricking and transport accessory, the Girl art inspires and motivates and their videos break new ground and steal breath with every new release. The Girl combination of quality skateboard craftsmanship, intelligent film making and outstanding artistry will come together starting next week in Hoxton, London.
Girl and Chocolate Skateboards have a new film coming out which premiers on Monday the 19th of November at the Richmix cinema. Legendary director Spike Jonze (yeah, that Spike Jonze) brings his wickedly inventive imagination to bear in a role as co-director of, Pretty Sweet, marking the latest in a long history of Jonze working with the brands. Jonze has reached fame with his films for a wider audience but there are some people who will prefer to remember him for getting a retired skateboarder to jump a flight of stairs in a wheelchair (Hot Chocolate Tour, 1999) and getting his crew to ride invisible skateboards (Yeah Right, 2002) above the beautifully arresting Where The Wild Things Are (2009).
Never Mind The Art Dump
To mark this occasion, the Hoxton Hotel are hosting an exhibition of work from the Art Dump collective, who are behind the astonishing and eye-catching art that graces the Girl skateboards. Called Never Mind The Art Dump and with free entry for all comers, it will feature iconic posters of the Girl and Chocolate Film Archives, re-interpreted versions of those posters, as well as exclusive skateboard decks and eight brand new prints from the new film. As well as this, they will also have A selection of the Girl and Chocolate past videos, including the blaxploitation-inspired skit from 1996’s “MOUSE”, that eventually led to the Beastie Boys “Sabotage” music video.
All the Girl art is produced by the phenomenal hive of creativity and sparkling genius that is the Art Dump. This is a loose collective of creative types who hang out together in the same office in California. They’re pretty much the full time Art department for Girl, but also work on a range of other personal and professional projects. The line up is always changing so the work they produce is always going to be a huge mash of different influences and inspirations which is pretty much why an exhibition of the Art Dump work would be so good to go to.
At the Pretty Sweet premier, Girl and Chocolate team riders Raven Tershy, Elijah Berle, Kenny Anderson, Cory Kennedy, Vincent Alvarez and Stevie Perez will be in attendance to open the gallery at the Hoxton Hotel where exclusive, limited edition, signed artwork will be available to buy.
We can’t recommend trying to get to this exhibition enough. Lovers of art, of skating, of film and of defining movements in underground counter-cultures alike will find something for them. Grab some inspiration to improve your skating, or some to improve your own skate inspired art. Whatever your reasons are, they’re good enough for us. Just go.
