2 minute read
Concrete creatives
from The FUSE 2021
Photography:
Oscar Dryden, BA (Hons) Press & Editorial Photography
Graphic Design student Amber Rees and Press & Editorial Photography student Oscar Dryden have pooled their skills to create 48to1, a magazine that shines a light on the Cornish skating scene.
Amber (far left image), who is in the final year of her course, didn’t want to miss out on the chance to collaborate with Oscar before graduation. “Last term we worked on collaborative projects and I thought it’d be such a shame if I didn’t get to work with Oscar. I phoned him up and asked if he had any projects in mind, and he told me about ‘Hidden Cornwall’ – exposing a subculture that doesn’t get the recognition it deserves. We decided to run with it and focused on skateboarding.”
While it doesn’t get the same representation as the county’s surf culture, the Cornish skating scene is strong. Oscar was surprised to see how many options there are for locals. “I only started skating properly when I got to Falmouth. There are 37 skateparks dotted around Cornwall – everyone seemed to be on a board when I got here. You make new friends and new connections every time you go out to skate.”
After slowly embedding himself into what Oscar describes as ‘a really warm, chilled out’ community, the pair took on the challenge of creating 48to1: a testament to the scene that they have become so closely intwined with. Amber wrote the articles, organised photo shoots and designed the magazine, while Oscar has taken charge of the photography for the project.
The 104-page magazine, which is a mixture of feature articles, interviews and photo-led pieces, was pulled together by the pair in just three months. They were even able to source advertising from local skating centre Mount Hawke Skatepark and place copies of their magazine in several local shops.
To have created an industry-standard publication in such a short time demonstrates the students’ dedication to their project. Oscar admits that the workload led to “a few sleepless nights” and Amber describes running from interview to interview in the late hours of winter evenings as interest in their work gained momentum.
The hectic schedule was all part of the thrill, though. The duo loved the experience of creating 48to1. Oscar says, “It didn’t feel like work at all. It was just something that we wanted to do.”
The pair are planning on releasing a second issue in the near future. “We want our next issue to feature skateboarders who also work as creatives. A lot of people might refer to skateboarding as art, but we’re literally going to explore artists who are also skateboarders,” says Amber.
Falmouth has plans for a new skatepark, but if you can’t wait, then you could try out Concrete Waves in Newquay, one of two parks in Penzance or Mount Hawke – Cornwall's largest indoor park.
