Scuffed

Seven-or-so sheets of Canadian maple are cut, glued and bent together into the sort of shape Eames might like. People of every age and gender have stood on and sailed through this city. Some have made money off them, most spend money on them and all have spent time seeking a skateboard’s reward. These bent planks have hardly changed since they were first made but what people do with them changes every day. The six examples below are scuffed and scathed; their soft timber underbellies a record of the city’s marble, steel, timber and concrete edges. Some boards last forever, passed down from fussy riders to recent inductees. Old boards can still pop, while new boards snap. One of these boards bears the name of a love lost. These boards have meaning, that’s why they’ve not been thrown away. Seven stoic sheets of ply, glued together – they stay together – locked in conversation.