Museum of Skateboarding

Looking at it not just as a sport but as a visceral way to understand the human body, Kirill Savchenkov projects the skateboarder’s perspective of the urban environment.

“Citizen activated space — Museum of Skateboarding” is the third installment of Calvert 22 Foundation’s Power and Architecture exhibition programme. Newly commissioned by Calvert 22 Foundation, the installation by Russian artist Kirill Savchenkov explores the individual’s participation in the activation of public space through skateboarding.

Museum of Skateboarding is a mixed media installation that considers skateboarding as a method of understanding the human body, memory and consciousness, and as a visceral way of exploring and reflecting on the post-Soviet residential suburbs of Moscow. The project studies the secret language of skateboarding, illustrating how certain architectural interventions or objects can be understood through the sport and related practices.

The installation consists of a video projection showing the skateboarder’s perspective of urban space, photographs, artefacts and archive materials including a module of a crossfit trainer, a replica of a perfect skating spot, metallic and plexiglass boards with artist’s drawings and a study guide.

Born in 1987 in Moscow, Kirill Savchenkov grew up in the post-Soviet high-rises on the outskirts of the city. Preoccupied by the transition of growing up, his work explores themes of memory, conflict and the identity of the post-Soviet city. Savchenkov uses skateboarding as a method of understanding the human body, but also as a way to control the environment around him. Savchenkov’s practice is informed by a set of ‘mantras’, structuring the bodily experience of reading the city, the reassignment of space through skateboarding, the creation of a personal cartography, social expertise on the street and mental practices. He explores the psychology of space, using the physical experience of skateboarding to achieve a “meditative sense of movement”.

Viewers are encouraged to explore the depth beyond the surface value of skateboarding, a way in which to illustrate the issues facing an increasingly divided society and an understanding of oppositional public space. Museum of Skateboarding presents a contemporary perspective on the unique relationships forged between cities and their citizens as part of the wider Power and Architecture season. Museum of Skateboarding is a project originally commissioned by V-A-C Foundation, Moscow in 2015, developed by the artist in partnership with Calvert 22 Foundation.

11 August – 11 September 2016
Citizen activated space — Museum of Skateboarding
Calvert 22
22 Calvert Avenue, London

Museum of Skateboarding

Looking at it not just as a sport but as a visceral way to understand the human body, Kirill Savchenkov projects the skateboarder’s perspective of the urban environment.

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