This new work recreates a popular skatepark in Southbank, London, which Evans, one half of the artist duo Simon Evans™, frequented in his youth. The artists meticulously mapped out the...
This new work recreates a popular skatepark in Southbank, London, which Evans, one half of the artist duo Simon Evans™, frequented in his youth. The artists meticulously mapped out the park as it existed in the 1990’s, inspired by the theory of Psychogeography, which focuses on the psychological experience of the urban environment. At once personal and public, the work illustrates a particular nostalgia for Evans, who was a professional skateboarder before he was a professional artist. Hands and disembodied fingers fingerboard across the parks’ geography, playfully imitating the moves of skateboarders on a small scale. The park is dotted with imagery from Evans’ childhood and British history—notably, a depiction of the Golden Hind, once helmed by Francis Drake, and a Brontosaurus, whose validity has been called into question since its discovery by British scientists in the 19th century— as well as nods to the present day through imagery of discarded medical gloves. The work explores the blurred relationship between toys, games and the real-life counterparts they seek to imitate, and the interplay between past and present on one’s experience of space.