Cutback

Cut Back Javier Plàcido

“To see what all those top guys were doing in regards to coaching, training and nutrition was such an eye opener”.

Good surfer, better artist “In Manhattan There’re people that spend money in all kinds of art”

The art of Surfing

Matty Scorringe, one of NZ surfing’s finest goofy foot surfers– getting that spark and flair from arguably

take the surf side of life

march 2013 · 01 · 10€ www.cutbackmagazine.com

Mentawais and North Sumatra

The islands are generally an overnight boat ride from Padang, an extremely remote destination.

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Cut Back

EDITORS LETTER

STAFF Editorship Mireia Márquez (mireia@cutback.com) Carlos Espejo (carlos@cutback.com) Photo Editing Jordi Taña Editor of Large Albert Lleida Design and Layout Mireia Márquez Proofreading Albert Laredo Advertising Marta Boquet (marta@cutback.com) Printing Copimatge, Sant Cugat

Chris Burkard Daniel Crockett Ryan Field Sam Partaix Stéphane Rançon Jordy Smith Michelle Marcelle Yannik Willing Javier Plàcido Ryan Craig Salt Surfboards Thanks for the help Dolors Trasserra Laura Rodés Anna Català Cutback is published by LaPaideia C/Santiago Russinyol, 12 08172 Sant Cugat del Vallés Barcelona www.lapaideia.com ISBN:978-2-929287-03-9

Contributors Ruben Abin César Ancelle-Hansen

Order orders@cutback.com

Cut Back is a publishing project looking at surfing through the prisms of exploration and everyday life.

Shortly after surfing had become important for us, we felt the need to portray surfing in a broad context and explore its fringes with art, science, philosophy and poetry. So we’ll do just that, trying hard not to sound too serious.

Real surfers don’t need a team or a game to test their mettle. In the real surfing world, there are simply rider, board, and a fluid, uneven, and predictably unpredictable playing field, an unfeeling surface ready to swallow you whole or spit you out in shreds onto the sand, or worse, lay dormant and leave you lost and dry among the landlocked masses who have no understanding of why you get up at dawn in the splitting cold for nothing more than mushy wind swell (Man! That was one insanely complex sentence). Heck, I doubt you even know why you surf. And that’s what’s so great about it.

Surfing is a mystery, but with enough romance to draw in droves of disciples. Some put in a season and then fade back into normalcy, unsatisfied with the high or all done mining the lifestyle of its image. Others, however, get hooked in the best way. We are the lucky ones. We see surfing as a ticket to a place only the chosen get to see.

A place where only fins keep us from taking flight, where a sixteen old and a fifty year old can understand each other’s passion, a safe place.

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Cut Back take the surf side of life nº 1

6 Salt Surfboards Made for the New York city surfers 8 Jordy Smith His new surf flick, and his plans for the near future...

14 Javier Plácido Good surfer, better artist and incredible person 16 Go surf interview The Art Of Surfing by Matty Scorringe 24 Before Tomorrow Yannik Willing’s graduation project at Photobook Festival 52 Wave hunters Mentawais and North Sumatra ABRIL 2013 · CUTBACK · 5

article

SALT SURFBOARDS

Salt surfboards are made for New York City surf, and all are designed specifically with this in mind. We believe that a well crafted surfboard can make all the difference, and that buying a surfboard shouldn’t break the bank.

The two partnered up with Mauricio Avila, an established shaper based in California, and began working on a line of surfboards to compliment the New York City surfer, in hopes of delivering quality, progressively-shaped boards, at affordable prices.

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They have an appreciation for classic surfboard design and you will see that in all of the boards they make. However, they are also influenced by modern surfboard design. They believe the mixture of the two makes for quality, progressively shaped boards, perfect for New York City surf.

THE SHAPING PROCESS All boards are shaped with a DSD surfboard machine which ensures a more consistent product, leaving very little room for error. This process sets a solid and uniform foundation shape for the surfboard. The shaper is then able to fine-tune and finesse the intricacies of the board by hand.

The end product is a surfboard that has all the technical benefits of being machine shaped, as well as the knowledge and meticulous attention to detail of a seasoned hand shaper.

STOCK & CUSTOM ORDERS We carry a selection of boards in stock at our Brooklyn showroom. All boards that are pictured in the store section of the site, are currently available for sale, and local pickup.

At any given time, there are a variety of different shapes and sizes in stock. We have new boards arriving regularly and specific orders can be placed at any time.

TEXT ANN RHODES · PHOTOGRAPHY LAURA ÁLVAREZ

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interview

6 GOLD MEDALS Jordy Smith recently sat down with his sponsor O’Neill Clothing and answered 10 questions about what he’s been up to, his new surf flick, and som e of his plans for the near future.

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What you been up to lately?

I’ve been training a little bit and just surfing a lot. Just getting really good waves at home and remembering last year a little bit and changing a few things for this year. I’m just starting really early and making those changes happen.

Trunks or wetsuit?

Living here in Cape Town when the waves are good you have to wear gloves and booties so it’s a bit of a ying yang.

Then again you could go to Indo in trunks… that’s the ultimate.

Were you satisfied with how your movie (Bending Colors) turned out?

Yeah I was! The movie was super sick I was pumped on it!

In the movie dreams came true for me. Surfing with Tom Curran was something I never thought would happen and going to a reunion with Julian is something I am going to remember . I’m defiantly satisfied with it for sure! It’s one where I look back and say wow I’m happy I did that!

Tell us something about your new trunks Well they are the most comfortable I have ever worn that’s for sure. They are really easy to spot in the line up and they look good. They are super quick to dry. I could take them off and chuck them into the sun and in 10 minutes their dry.

Any goals for the new year?

World Title for sure! I’m just going head down, and giving it everything.

Are you the hardest working man in surfing?

No, I am probably not the hardest working, but I’ll be up there for the guy that has the most fun that’s for sure.

That’s when I enjoy surfing the most. This year I’m going to put more work into it.

How was your 6 weeks on the North Shore?

It was pretty cool. We stayed at the house at Logs and hung out for a little while. Myself, Lyndall and the Kerr family all stayed. It was pretty mellow but I injured my heel the second day I arrived. I couldn’t really surf to much which really sucked. At Sunset the waves were really good. I could have won the event it was silly for me to injure my heel.

TEXT SAM PARTAIX · PHOTOGRAPHY STÉPHANE RAÇON

Does redbull give you wings?

That’s for you to find out.

What’s next for Jordy Smith?

Were going to head out again to get some really good barrels and after that we will go from there.

So when did things turn grouchy?

We’d extended our tickets because we knew a swell was coming, and we ended up scoring a wave we’d seen a few days earlier that looked fun. But we just ended up getting kicked out. Dean Bowen and I paddled out, and Deano took a little left that no one was paddling for. I went right, and when we got back out this one little Mexican dude started yelling…and pretty soon there were, 15 guys screaming at us to go in and get out of there and go back to Trestles and all that. Everyone else went in, but I sort of sat there for a little bit and was saying, “We don’t want the good ones, we’ll just catch the leftovers,” because it was pumping.

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article

Hurricane Sandy: Where to Begin?

Where to begin? It’s hard to write about my hurricane Sandy experience and be excited about it when so many people are suffering because of her. Hurricane Sandy is now gone, but she leaves in her wake a trail of destruction. On the flip side of the coin, she has left some surfers with the best moments and memories of their surfing lives on the East Coast.

As a surfer on the East Coast, we yearn for fall hurricane season every year. This is the time of year when the tourists leave, the Atlantic Ocean begins to generate activity, and the locals reclaim their beaches. The water is usually still fairly warm and we have very consistent surf. This year has been no different than any other year, with several average over hyped hurricane swells. Most of what we have been getting hasn’t really come close enough to our coast to produce the best scenario for great surf.

Sandy was a different beast. She formed in the Caribbean just south of Jamaica, and her track looked to be the perfect storm to every surfer. She was to move slowly up the Eastern seaboard and hug the coast tightly. And hug the coast tightly she did, leading to several days of amazing and exciting surf experience.

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there were almost too many options of places to go and score waves. I had been talking to Colin Herlihy, and we decided that since we both had work obligations the first few days of the swell, we’d try and team up and surf Sandy together as she passed the mid-Atlantic region. As the storm tracked north, she intensified. Her wind field was reaching across the entire eastern seaboard. I got in my car, headed across the Chesapeake Bay bridge, and headed north to Colin’s house. I had a lingering sense of eagerness mixed with nervousness running through my blood, and I have a suspicion that the animals felt the same thing. The snow geese were flying by the thousands, and the deer were acting bizarre. So bizarre, in fact, that I ended up with two of them as roadkill dinners for the next few nights.

When I got to Colin’s house late Saturday night, we cleaned my deer, drank a few beers and talked about what was TEXT JOSEF BURNS · PHOTOGRAPHY CARLOS RIO

coming. The next evening, we drove down to the beach through the outer bands of the storm to look at the waves.

The surf was already well overhead with a hard onshore wind that chilled to the bone. We talked out a few scenarios of what would play out the following day as we headed home. Monday morning we woke up around 8 am. We were super excited to get to the beach and see what the day had in store for us. We loaded up the truck and headed to the beach. Everything was on lock down and under mandatory evacuation. We took the back roads and dodged the police and National Guard to make our way into Bethany Beach, DE. The surf was massive. It looked like a solid day at Puerto with a side offshore wind at about 80 mph. There were a few differences, though: the lineup was full of pilings from the fallen Ocean City pier, debris fields of trash, beach fences swept from the dunes and anything else you could possibly imagine. It was time to check somewhere else.

We headed into Ocean City MD. On the way we again had to dodge the police. One officer even gave us an offer to take us to jail just for being out driving in the storm, but I passed on it and told him we were heading home immediately. Instead we slipped onto another back road and worked our way back to the beach. By now the water from the bay had raised so high that the ocean and the sounds were pretty much touching everywhere. Everything was underwater and we knew shit was hitting the fan. We posted up at a hotel near the state line and watched the surf, anticipating the wind switch. We knew the wind was about to go offshore. When it happened, it turned into completely unruly and unsurfable 15 foot faces with gaping barrels and hard offshore winds. The ride of your life was

out there, and so was the wipeout of your life. It was time for us to get out there.

Suiting up as fast as humanly possible in the freezing wind, we got the ski ready for launch. We played cat and mouse with the National Guard for about half an hour while trying to launch our ski, but finally we had our moment to go. We dropped the ski on the top of the dune and pushed it to the edge of the water. I jumped on and got to a safe spot to pick up my buddy Todd who was fired up to get the first wave. We set up out the back excited, but also nervous. It was pouring rain, and with the hard wind it felt like pins and needles stabbing every part of our bodies. Finally a wave came. Todd was ready, so we gave it ago. Whipping him into it, I looked up from the bottom of the wave on the ski and saw Todd standing there with a giant thick lipped monster towering over him It was two or three times his size. The next wave came, and I put Todd a little too deep, and he got absolutely chewed up. He popped up out the back ok, but frazzled. We set back up on a few more and Todd ended up getting blown out of the barrel of his life.

I was up next. We had a go on a few waves but it just didn’t set up right. Finally a bomb came right to me. I remember telling Todd to go while he was telling me not to. I went anyways. I got to the bottom of the wave, looked up, and just knew this was a monster. For a second, I actually thought I was going to make it. I pulled in and tried to go high.

We were super excited to get to the beach and see what the day had in store for us.

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article

Ancient Surfboard Style Finds New Devotees Lido beach, n.y. — On a cloudless day in October I made my way toward the water at this popular surfing beach on Long Island. All was fairly typical: the waves were waist high and zippy, the water temperature was a friendly 63 degrees, and roughly 20 surfers dotted the glassy lineup.

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The wetsuit on my back was made of UltraFlex neoprene, the sunscreen on my face was a whopping SPF 85 — but the board under my arm looked like something out of “The Flintstones.”

My surfcraft that day was an alaia, a replica of the thin, round-nosed, square-tailed boards ridden in pre-20thcentury Hawaii. The originals were 7 to 12 feet long, generally made of koa wood and could weigh up to 100 pounds. They resemble nothing so much as antique ironing boards, but their most distinctive feature compared with modern equipment is that they are finless.

Ancient Hawaiian boards had mostly been relegated to museums and private collections; they were seen as artifacts rather than functional designs. But a recent movement in surfing that mines the past has raised their profile. In the last five years alaias have enjoyed a renaissance. They have been taken up by some of the world’s best surfers and show up heavily in magazines, movies, Web sites and blogs.

The new versions tend to be six to seven feet long, for maneuverability, and are carved from a range of woods including paulownia, pine, cedar and even plywood.

A modern surfer will find alaias extremely difficult to paddle. Because they are only about 18 inches wide and one inch thick, they provide minimal flotation. I have been a dedicated surfer for more than 30 years and like to think that my arms and shoulders have adapted to paddling the way a marathon runner’s legs have adapted to running.

But the alaia’s challenge doesn’t end there. Without fins on the board to dig into the water, I went head over heels on my first five waves. On my next 10 I made it down the face, but when I went to turn, the board slid sideways, and I found myself washing to shore, feet first and wildly out of control. It was like learning to surf all over again.

So why ride something so primitive when the modern surfboard is infinitely more user-friendly?

An obvious attraction is the fin-free feeling of skimming across the water, which the ancient Hawaiians called “lala” — a controlled slide in the pocket of the wave.

Cyrus Sutton, a surfer and filmmaker in Encinitas, Calif., has shaped alaias in his backyard. “The alaia has a mind

TEXT SELA GABLER · PHOTOGRAPHY LARS BELDEN

of its own,” he said. “It bends and snakes with the wave.

It’s alive under your feet. And the speed is just ridiculous.”

Richard Kenvin, a former pro surfer from San Diego, credits the alaia with giving him “some of the most magical feelings I’ve ever had.”

Chad Marshall, a surfer in Malibu, Calif., known for his flamboyant longboard riding, said: “I like the friction-free vibe. I like that it slots you in that sweet spot on the wave.”

Another draw is the link to the sport’s early Polynesian history at a time when the surfing life has become heavily commercialized, and surfboards become commodified.

The alaia provides a stripped down, back-to-the-roots alternative. They are to surfing what the fixed gear is to cycling or the bow and arrow are to hunting. And unlike their often-mass-produced foam-and-fiberglass cousins, which you must buy from a manufacturer for $500 and up, alaias are cheap and easy to make, and considerably easier on the environment.

Tom Stone, a professor of Hawaiian studies at the University of Hawaii and a surfboard shaper, said the early alaias were essentially made from scraps. After felling a sacred tree, the ancient Hawaiians would use the bulk of the log to carve out a canoe, and the leftover planks to create alaias. But while the originals were planned and executed with great pageantry (prayers, offerings, pig roasts), their modern-day equivalents are often shaped with household tools in suburban backyards.

“It’s taking ownership of your surfing experience,” Mr. Sutton said. “And they’re kind of like works in progress.

I’ll go back and forth between the sawhorse and the surf until the board’s just right.”

Making an alaia involves little more than a jigsaw, a hand planer, sandpaper and the right piece of wood. Once smooth, they are covered with a sealant, typically linseed oil and gum turpentine. The hard part is learning to make them fly on water. “I always tell surfers to go out into knee-deep water and push into whitewash and ride prone, just to get the feel,” said Tom Wegener, a surfer and shaper in Australia who was instrumental in the alaia’s resurgence. “Do that 20 times, then go outside and try to pick off a proper wave and stand up.”

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interview

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Good surfer, better artist Javier Plácido expone la serie ‘Old (new) Landscapes’ , 12 piezas que, hechas a carboncillo y acrílicos sobre papel, se muestras en la galería Manuel Ojeda (Buenos Aires, 3) como ‘Imágenes de calendario’, hasta el 1 de marzo.

¿Qué hay detrás de Old (new) Landscapes?

Viejos (nuevos) paisajes en inglés, es el idioma para trabajar a nivel internacional. Por otro lado, yo juego de alguna manera con el hecho de que, al no ser un idioma que domine, a la hora de poner el título queda abierto su significado, no es exactamente lo que expresa la obra. Además, la traducción literal del inglés al español no suele ser exacta.

El dibujo en papel, ¿se siente cómodo con ellos?

Suelo trabajar por series con diferentes técnicas y formatos, según el proyecto. Cuando empecé hacía performances callejeras, instalaciones, fotografías o acciones, un poco de todo. No hacía nada con previo aviso, sino que hacía cosas que yo documentaba después, trabajaba de eso, documentando mis obras. También pintaba y tal, y al final he acabado usando la pintura, que en el arte es de toda la vida y todo el mundo la conoce, sencilla. ¿Cree que hay un público que no se acopla a nuevas formas de arte?

He hecho alguna instalación y la gente se asusta, provoca rechazo incluso. En Holanda, por ejemplo, utilizaba carteles de los comercios y escribía mensajes, frases como ‘hoy es jueves’, si era jueves, cosas así. Siempre usaba los medios que ofrecen las ciudades para comunicarse y los reutilizaba. Que la gente supiera o no que eso era arte, no me interesa, yo los tenía como regalos que hacía a las ciudades. En algunas performances, me ponía con un cartón en medio de la calle que ponía ‘no necesito nada de vosotros’.

TEXT JOHN MALCOM · PHOTOGRAPHY INGRID RIBES

¿Cómo funciona al incubar sus nuevas ideas?

A veces llevo a la práctica ideas, normalmente una frase o algo que me transmite, con dos años, o cinco de retraso desde que se me ocurren. A lo mejor empiezo con un boceto para obras enormes, que acaban siendo pequeños papeles a lápiz, o todo lo contrario. ¿Está satisfecho con lo la muestra que transmite?

Nunca vas a poder contar todo, a transmitirlo con la obra.

Cuando tú pintas no lo haces como en una ecuación matemática, quizás los hay que sí, yo no. Y luego, cuando hablas de algo, lo que haces es limitar, definir en exceso, y parece que es eso lo que quieres decir. No lo podrías decir todo, de todas formas, uno no sabe lo que es todo; es más si te digo algo de la obra, hablamos mañana y te voy a decir otra cosa. Como espectador, no me gusta el arte que se resuelve como una fórmula, como un jeroglífico con un mensaje, en el que muere la pieza. ¿Por qué un calendario erótico?

Quería tocar el desnudo, uno de los temas por excelencia de toda la historia del arte, en el arte primitivo siempre se manifiestan las maternidades, esos ídolos que veneraban para la fertilidad. Fijándome en la forma en que ha llegado el desnudo a la actualidad, vi esto. Lo tenemos siempre presente, calendarios súperguarros, en talleres, y me apetecía llevar el desnudo a cómo lo vemos ahora, intentar que eso pudiese también ser algo bonito. Creo que se puede decir lo mismo sin tener que dejar la belleza a un lado.

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feature

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The Art Of Surfing

Matty Scorringe Matty Scorringe one of NZ surfing’s finest goofy foot surfers – getting that spark and flair from arguably the best left sandbar in the country. Yeah, Matty hails from the famous beach town of Whangamata.

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n 2009 Matty was having a beer with some friends when he got a knock on the door from his doctor and found out he had something called AMPL. AMPL is a form of blood cancer (strand of leukemia), which means that your blood cells don’t mature properly therefore multiplying rapidly out of control to compensate for under developed cells, or something like that anyway. Given the shitty news, he had to undergo eight months of extensive chemotherapy treatment spending the first month of treatment in Auckland hospital. Matty not only went down the traditional route to heal this illness, but also surrounded himself with a vast crew of intelligent and health conscious people who opened him up to healing the natural way – you could say Matty took both the spiritual and natural aspects of healing; combined them together with courage, a good diet, friends, family and love to heal himself from the inside out!

TEXT ANN RHODES · PHOTOGRAPHY LAURA ÁLVAREZ

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feature - the art of surfing

T

his interview isn’t about Matty’s cancer survival (although I feel like I could just ask question after question regarding the topic), but of his life post treatment and how his mind frame has changed, major things that have angled his direction in life and what he is currently doing. Take a few minutes to read this interview and get a good insight into Matty’s new endeavor and the background which it has derived from.

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Hey Matty, how are ya bud?

I’m doing really good thanks.

I heard you were living in Bali this year with your girlfriend what you were up to over there?

Yeah we both love Bali so much and we’ve always wanted to live up in Bali for a decent amount of time. So this year we headed up there and spent the majority of the year living up in Bali. I basically just lived the Bali life and chased swells around Indonesia, it was a pretty magical time.

Epic, I’ve seen your recent clip of Deserts it looks amazing!

Yeah Desserts is insane, I actually hadn’t been there for a few years as I had been focusing on getting of the beaten track a bit more. But this year a perfect desserts swell lined

up and I thought it was about time I went back and scored it. Its a perfect wave its ridiculous! On your forehand its such a dream, I ended up going back there all season when it was all of this clip going on.

I heard a little about a new venture you’re starting up. Was this part of the plan pre Bali or did it just kind of unravel up there?

Yeah I’ve just started up The Art Of Surfing – elite surf coaching. I’ve been working with a few junior surfers from around NZ for the last couple of years now. But the time up in Bali this year gave me the opportunity to realise that it was something I really want to pursue, so I started putting all the wheels in motion while I was up there so that I could come home and launch it this summer.

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feature - the art of surfing

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I’ve been working with a few junior surfers from around NZ for the last couple of years now.

Thats awesome bro! People who know you, know that you have a pretty amazing story to tell. Obviously having cancer has given you slightly different perceptions on things/life, but do you think it contributed to you getting The Art Of Surfing off the ground or even conceptualizing the idea?

Yeah I think it has, I know that when I was going through my treatment I started to think about what was important to me and what I really wanted to do with my life and I knew then that it had to involve surfing as its one of the things I love most. When I moved back down to Whanga and started to surf again, I found myself surfing with all the groms and they were so rad to be around, they were so frothing to surf and I was just as stoked as they were to be back in the water. I started giving a few of them tips here and there and it just naturally evolved into coaching sessions with them and some other kids from around the country. I really enjoyed it and thought how cool it would be to help the next generation of NZ surfers and as I mentioned before – the time in Bali really confirmed that the new generation of NZ surfers will be such great.

So tell us, what do you do with your coaching? Is The Art Of Surfing focused on the “super groms”, or a mixture of people in all shape age and size?

Basically I’m focusing on elite surf training but that doesn’t

mean you have to be some elite super grom. Its for anyone that already surfs and wants to take there surfing to the next level, so you could be a grom that’s just started going along the green wave and wants to start doing some turns or you could be a 40 year old guy wanting to learn how to do a decent cutback. I think no matter what level of surfing your at there’s always ways to improve and most importantly get more enjoyment out of your surfing.

Cool, totally agree – you can always improve, look at the bald man ruling the world right now he’s still kicking it with all the super kids. So just to dig a little deeper – do you use cameras and/or other methods to analyze or give feedback in your tutorials?

Well my coaching is always flexible to work with the surfers needs, but in most cases I’ll do a video analysis session. In a video analysis session ill use a camera to film the surfer for a period of time and then we’ll watch the footage back, slowing it down to analyze and identify where a surfer can improve technique and showing training methods to correct problem areas. I’ll also use video modules of professional surfers showing correct technique and use split screen technology to show comparisons so the surfer can see exactly where their going wrong and what they need to do to improve their surfing method.

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feature - the art of surfing

To see what those guys were doing in regards to coaching, training and nutrition was an eye opener.

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So how many people can you take? Is it all one on one sessions or if I had four groms chomping at the bit to come and learn can you do something for them as well.

Yeah absolutely, I do group video analysis sessions and for groms that are competing I do group competition sessions, which covers heat drills, competition preparation and strategy and how to surf to the judging criteria. I also do board riders camps which allows board riders to get a bunch of their local kids together in a fun environment and be coached a combination of both technique and competition skills. They all improve so much with this method.

such an eye opener. That particular year was the year Parko came out firing wining 3 events and then Mick had that incredible come back winning 3 at the end to take the world title at Pipe. Both Parko and Mick were hands down the fittest guys on tour that year, traveling with personal trainers and they were both so focused. Their preparation at each event and their pre heat routines were so incredible to see. And then working with Josh himself on heat strategy and ways to improve your surfing was such a valuable experience in itself. It made me realise how far its come as a sport and how seriously the top guys are taking it now.

Matty, you traveled around as Kerzy’s ( Josh Kerr – WCT surfer) caddy and personal photographer. You must have witnessed all types of physical/mental preparation leading up to and after events. In reflection, this must have contributed to your knowledge base and been a key variable in pursuing a career in surf coaching?

Definitely. The year I spent traveling with Kerzy on the WCT was amazing. To see what all those top guys were doing in regards to coaching, training and nutrition was

What did you think about the Quiksilver Pro New York event last year?

I loved going there and Quiksilver looked after us so well.

We probably scored the best waves off the year too so I would love to go back.

Thanks so much Matty, you are a true inspiration and employ such a positive attitude toward life. Coaching seems to have chosen you in a way – best of luck boss.

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feature

Before tomorrow Yannik Willing (1986) studied B.A. photography at the art school Bergen in Norway and at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Dortmund in Germany. In 2012 he achieved his bachelor´s degree in Dortmund. His graduation project „Before tomorrow“ was exhibited at the International Photobook Festival 2012 Dummy Award in Paris and at the Milan Image Art Fair 2012.

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TEXT MARK O’DEALL · PHOTOGRAPHY YANNIK WILLING

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feature - before tomorrow

C

an you tell me a little about what motivated your interest in this part of the world, and eventually in spending time making work there? What about this project provoked you to take it to the lengths that you have, and to self-publish it as newsletter?

My first introduction to the island of Sri Lanka was in 2009 through friends who live there. During my travel I took portraits of citizens that I had gotten to know there. However I was dissatisfied with the usual touristic/exotic flair, and analysed them at length with my professors and fellow students at university in Dortmund.

Four weeks after I left Sri Lanka, an end was declared to the thirty-year long civil. From watching the news I reali-

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The close connection between boom and crisis caught my attention.

sed that this was a historic moment that would massively influence the whole country, meaning at one and the same time cultural, political and economic change. The close connection between boom and crisis caught my attention, and when I heard about the new records in tourist arrivals in 2010 I knew that it could be important to document the tourist regions right now, during the post-war phase.

Coincidentally, this was exactly the time when I was looking for a theme that I could work on for my Bachelor’s thesis in photography, and so the decision was clear for me. In my course I had developed new strategies to return to the island. Two years after my first trip I travelled twice again, both trips eight weeks long. Between the first and second trip I developed and printed all the films as well as

discussing them in detail in various seminars.

Together with a graphic design student, I decided to create a “high quality newspaperprint publication” to underline the documentary character of this project – the transient form of the newspaper is supposed to show that the information inside will rapidly become history.

Another big argument for the newspaper form was the relatively low printing cost and the possibility to print several hundred copies. To finance the printing, we somehow managed to collect money from 60 people in advance, and I borrowed the rest of the money. Luckily I could finally finance all the printing costs through the sales. There are only a few copies left now, and I am glad that it turned out to be the right decision to self-publish the project.

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feature - before tomorrow

I often asked myself if it is legitimate to work on this project as a foreigner.

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Can you talk a little about the political and economic reality that you encountered in this place that had so recently been living under a 26 year long civil war that saw many many tens of thousands of civilians killed? I notice that at least two of the repeating figures in the work are military uniform and skyscrapers, so I wonder if you could talk a little about what you saw and understood in those overlapping all this different contexts?

I am certainly conscious of the brutal occurrences during the civil war between the Sinhalese and Tamils. I often asked myself if it is legitimate to work on this project as a foreigner. For me, the justification for putting my own

nose in this sensitive area in this foreign country was the point that most of the hotels and tourism facilities are built for the global tourism market. That is the point at which it has to do with me, as a tourist – this connection is very interesting to me. A mine-clearing vehicle, and many cordoned-off fields caught my attention on the journey to Passekudah, a beach area on the east coast. It was assumed that there were still mines left over from the time of the war. Passekudah was an area contested by both sides for thirty years and is now being marketed by the government as a large tourist project. Investors secured the areas of land fronting onto the sea at the beginning of 2009.

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feature - before tomorrow

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During my travel I took portraits of citizens that I had gotten to know there.

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feature - before tomorrow

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I am planing to go on working on this project in the future. drew attention to the plans for converting this location: “National Holiday Resort Passekudah – Star Class Hotels, Restaurant and Tea Centre, Performing Art Theatre, Art Gallery and Exhibition Hall, Open Air Theatre, Aquarium, Sports Complex, Shopping Bazaar, Bank, Post Office, Internet Cafe, Tourist Police Post, Medical Centre, Changing Rooms for Day visitors”.

When I was photographing this place, there were nothing but big construction sites for hotels and some few small guest houses and restaurants. On the one hand it looked absurd, bearing in mind that only two years ago there was still war happening in this area and now everything is going to be prepared to look agreeable for the tourists. On the other hand I can understand that people in this area look to the future now, and try to benefit from the economic upswing. The question is: Will those people who suffered during the war and during the tsunami in 2004 profit from the economic uplift? Or, will mainly investors get the chance to make money out of all this opportunity?

I’m also interested to know, to the extent that you can address this, whether it seems that Sri Lanka’s burgeoning tourist industry is being targeted as a major engine for economic growth on the one hand, and on the other hand whether that tourism is broadly from people within the region surrounding the country, or whether it is increasingly international in character?

The president put a target plan for the tourism industry on his website, and in this plan he explains his aim to achieve 2.5 million tourists by the year of 2016. (There were

850,000 tourists in 2011). Tourism is supposed to become a major economic factor in the country, and I could clearly feel a certain kind of tension in the tourism areas. Most travellers in 2011 came from India and Western Europe.

Do you continue to follow the situation? Are you making plans perhaps to return, expand the work, touch on different aspects of the overall phenomenon? Or have you moved on to something else?

Yes, I am planing to go on working on this project in the future. It is a clear next step for me, but I feel that I need to wait another year or even longer until I go back. Right now I am working on a completely new project which has to do with the system of national parks in Germany. It will be another critical approach on tourism.

Has this project encouraged you to consider doing another self-publishing venture, or changed the way you’ll approach new work in the future? What do you feel you gained from the effort you put into the work and the collaboration as a whole?

Self-publishing my work definitely was a useful and very effective way of reaching other people with my theme. But I need to say that I underestimated the efforts that need to be done for self-publishing. I am happy to put my whole energy again into the research for my new project and taking photographs. When the editing process comes to an end, I am sure that I will find new motivation to work on a new future publication again.

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photographic feature

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POWERFULL WAVES The work is grounded in the traditions and techniques of contemporary documentary photography, particularly the New Topographics movement, but instead of depicting a faithful representation of the world, I am creating a heavily abstracted and mystical interpretation of the landscape.

This is accomplished in part by the work’s connection to my life-long fascination with horror and sci-fi films, particularly Dario Argento’s Suspiria, Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner, and Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, among others. The photographs distill and abstract the visual extremity and psychological intensity of the-

TEXT NAO ALBET · PHOTOGRAPHY MICHAEL MARCELLE

se films, without necessarily conveying the bleakness of the genres. This connects the work to Kenneth Anger’s mid-career films, such as Invocation of My Demon Brother and Inauguration of the Pleasuredome, which present wildly vivid yet ultimately oblique mystical and such an occult imagery.

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SURROUNDED BY SURFERS As a surfer Dean Dampney’s focus over the last fifteen years is to paddle in and ride the biggest waves he can find, primarily focusing on Sunset B each as his teacher. As a water photographer it is this arena that he is most intent on capturing… to date with mixed results.

As a street photographer and social documentarian, Dampney continues to translate his sensitive and creative eye to the people he is surrounded by - Surfers. Dampney’s work on capturing the spirit and nature of his fellow man is fast becoming prolific with a book on Surfers currently in the making. With solo exhibitions across Australia over the past five years, Dampney is fast becoming a renowned photo artist. As a street photographer his tendency is to find Australians in their lighter moments, enjoying life for its simplicity and beauty. From shooting surf photography from the water (mostly from the North Shore of Oahu) to his time as a photojournalist, Dampney has found himself immersed in the thick of things on more than an occasion.

It is ironic that his more renowned work of black and white

TEXT NAO ALBET · PHOTOGRAPHY MICHAEL MARCELLE

images depicting peace and innocence, are often from a time for him as a photographer where riots and twentyfoot swells were a regular occurrence.

Dampney’s background as a software engineer with bachelor degrees in Economics and Science further add to the enigma. In looking forward, he intends to continue capturing people in their everyday lives, often surreptitiously, and in such a context that both beautiful stories can be told and poignant messages can be made.

2006 extract from Capture Magazine (Australia’s topselling professional photography magazine) Dampney currently works as a commercial photographer and freelances as a photojournalist.

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wave hunters

Mentawais and North Sumatra

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TEXT RUBEN ABIN 路 PHOTOGRAPHY MAX CAMPAS

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he Mentawai Islands are an archipelago of islands containing dozens of renowned world class waves scattered among several major island clusters, and lie approx. 100km off the Sumatran mainland. Padang, West Sumatra is the nearest point of access and major airport, serviced by daily flights from Jakarta. The islands are generally an overnight boat ride from Padang, hence this is an extremely remote surfing destination. Typical trip durations to the mentawais islands here range from 10 to 14 nights minimum.

North Sumatra trips are typically groups only and a North Sumatra itinerary must be requested at time of booking.

A North Sumatra fuel surcharge may apply. All of our boats will do North Sumatra itineraries by special request which may include any or all of the following regions depending on the vessel: Telos, Nias, Hinako, Pulau Banyak, and Simeuleu. Wavehunters also offers a land based surf resort in the Playgrounds zone of the Mentawai Islands.

A live-aboard charter is ideal for the surfer keen on exploring the entire Mentawais Island chain. Live- aboards have the advantages of mobility and flexibility when it comes to finding the right spot for any swell or wind direction

or dodging crowds. Mobile and satellite communications now make it routine for the onboard surf guides to consult swell models and weather conditions to put you onto all of the legendary spots of the islands in optimal conditions and even find some little unexplored nooks!

Our live-aboards accept both individual and group (full boat) bookings. Group bookings (full or almost full boats) are normally made 6-15 months in advance and individual or small party bookings within 6 months in advance when more sailings are guaranteed (have reached the minimum of passengers to sail, normally between 4 and 7pax depending on the boat). It may also be possible to book a group charter much closer to sailing, or to book individual spots more than 6 months out, so please inquire for openings.

Wavehunters’ resort based option is located in the Playgrounds area of the Mentawai Islands and is considered to be one of the best surf resorts in the entire world for waves, accommodation, service, and overall experience. Kandui Resort lies on a small, idyllic tropical island and consists of eight “umas” that host up to a maximum of 18 persons at a time. With dozens of breaks within a 30 minute boat ride, if there’s any swell at all you are going to score.

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wave hunters - Mentawais

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From North to South (These are the main breaks with many other spots available): urgerworld This is a mushy pointbreak - like righthander.

Can offer barrels at times, but usually long rippable walls with many cutback sections.

Four Bobs This is a small peak for when there is heaps of swell, or guys looking for a mellower option. Mainly a right with a short barrell off the takeoff, but quickly dies off into the channel. There’s an even shorter left, but usualy not worth the effort.

E-Bay This is a hollow left that barrels off the take-off with a short wall. A great option when a lot of swell is hitting.

Rifles One of the best waves in the Mentawais. A very long righthander that wraps around the other side of the same island as No Kanduis. Rarely makeable from start to finish, but even just from section to section you can get rides up to 100 yards or longer. Nice and hollow once it’s a few feet overhead, but usually more sectiony at smaller sizes.

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Pit Stops This is the right off the peak at E-Bay Usually a playful right that can offer some cover-ups off the take-off, but mostly a high performance waves with air sections at the end. Ends in a sandy channel.

Bank Vaults A heavy righthander that barrels and spits. Usually larger than most spots in the area. Watch out for clean-up sets.

Nipussi A shorter right that breaks down the point from Bank Vaults. Definitely fun and rippable. Usually has fairly deep water from the takeoff to the inside. Ends in a riptide that sucks all the water back out to sea. A good option when there’s not much swell, and usually the most consistent spot in the area.

Hideaways A very hollow left that can be shalow at times. It comes out of deep water, then unloads on a shallow section of reef before barreling towards the channel. Can get very shallow at low tides.

No Kanduis A long barrelling left that wraps around a small island.

Usually very sectiony, but can line up on the largest of swells. Many barrels on offer, but usually only makeable for one section before closing out and racing down the line.

Icelands Another consistent lefthander for when the swell is smaller. Usually always has some riddable surf, even when other breaks are flat.

Telescopes A perfect wrapping left reef. Long walls wrap around the reef with very few sections on larger days. Mostly breaks in pretty deep water, but it can get heavy and shallow on the inside on the bigger days.

Scarecrows Breaks off of an island just south of Telescopes. Good lefts but a bit more less predictable and shifty. It’s a short, wedgy wave that works best on a dropping high tide.

Bintangs A short and hollow right across the channel from Lance’s Left. As the wave approaches the reef, the bottom drops out before barreling towards the channel.

Lance’s Left Long left walls wrap down the point before hitting the last section, which is the main take- off area. Great hollow section after the take-off. A bigger gun helps on the larger.

The islands are generally an overnight boat ride from Padang, an extremely remote destination.

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wave hunters - Mentawais

Macaronis One of the most perfect waves in the world. A very hollow wave with many shallow spots. Lefts start from way up the point, then gradually slow down as it approaches the channel. The further up the point you paddle, the faster it barrels when you take-off. After the initial barrel ride, this wave offers one of the most rippable walls for any maneuvers you can think of.

Rags Left A great lefthander that can hold the biggest swells. It is very hollow and can often dish out some of the heaviest hold-downs in the island chain. Usually a bit more water moving around so a larger board can be useful.

Rags Right A shorter, hollow right on the southern end of Rags Island.

Similar to HT’s only a little shorter, but just as good. It can 56 · CUTBACK · ABRIL 2013

be fickle, but it’s one of the best rights in the islands.

It can shift more to the end bowl where it can break, reform, then bowl again into the channel. The inside is very shallow and is often referred to as the “surgeon’s table” due to the many reef-cuts doled out to traveling surfers.

Thunders Another large left that picks up and can hold the biggest swells. It’s a top to bottom wave on the outside, that gets a bit mellower on the inside section. Another wave that usually has a lot of water moving, so a bigger board can come in handy for the surfers.

The Hole Another very hollow left off a small island in the southern end of the Mentawais. Starts barrelling off the takeoff, but never really stops until a closeout section at the end of the reef. Definitely not a place to strighten out at.

Typical trip durations here range from 10 to 14 nights minimum.

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wave hunters - Mentawais

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Explore mentawai tribe ocated on off the coast of Padang, West Sumatra, Indonesia, Mentawai consists of about seventy islands, the major islands are : Siberut (the largest), Sipora, South Pagai and NorthPagai. The difficulties in communication and transportation make the island of Siberut is isolated.

Explore the jungle in the heart into the heart of the Siberut Island in the western part off West Sumatra’s coast, to meet the indigenous people of the Mentawai who live close to nature and still live in comparative isolation, maintaining their age-old ways. It’s virgin rainforest, inhabited by a number of animal species not found anywhere else in the world, among them some rare monkey species, pleasant surprises await you to explore.

You will be rewarded with stunning views and beautiful

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jungles abounding with unique plant and wildlife. The real highlight of your journey though, is the chance to meet the people of Siberut, traditionally hunter, gatherer clans who are now coming into contact with the modern world.

The Mentawaian are traditionally organized as patrineal groups and the social life centered around the UMA, a communal long house which held a clan of people related through a common ancestor. The UMA vary in size between 30 to 80 members divided in nuclear family units, referred to as LALEP. Because of internal friction, the clan might split up and form a new group or a single family.

They believe that all living objects, men, plants and animals are supposed to have spirits. The only specialist in the community is the medicine man, KEREI, responsible for communication with the spirits and the souls. In case of misfortune or illness, he is called in to restore harmony within the group or in relation with the spirits in the enTEXT DANIEL CROCKETT· PHOTOGRAPHY RYAN FIELD

vironment. An elaborate Taboo system based on religious beliefs with respect to the environment is a dominant characteristic of traditional life on Siberut.

You will stay as guests of a local Kerei (medicine -man) in the Uma (traditional family house). Here, where conditions are basic, you will gain a unique insight into the lives of these people who maintain a belief system based on living in total harmony with nature.

Visit and stay in a Mentawaian village, trek to the jungle, learn about sago processing and bark cloth processing, and do other activities that will heighten your interest in and fascination with the natural philosophy of the Mentawaians and north sumatrans.

The trip condition This is a challenging trek that will take you far from the tourist trail, into the heart of the Mentawai Islands. Deep

ou will be rewarded with stunning views and beautiful jungles with unique wildlife. within their jungles indigenous people live close to nature.

A people in transition, these uncomplicated rainforest dwellers are struggling to maintain their traditional lifestyle against the paradoxes of modernization. This trek is only recommended if you are prepared to accept very basic and often uncomfortable conditions.. The Mentawai Islands are in Indian Ocean, approximately 100 km to the west of Padang. Now the island is also a paradise for surfers. Your journey begins with an overnight boat crossing to Siberut the largest island in the chain.

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wave hunters - Mentawais

with souls round. There are several taboos (makeikei), which should not be broken. For example rivers should not be polluted, kids should not be screamed at or beaten. If someone fails to go along with taboos, Mentawai believe their soul will not be happy and will try to escape from their body. That is how they get sick and might even die.

Then sikerei – Mentawai shaman – has to come and through special healing ceremony try to find out what makeikei was broken and find a way to call the soul back.

Yellow beads and tattoos are used to make feel their souls happy and not give them any reason to leave their body.

Red beads have special purpose also – they protect the person from bad ghosts.

The main subsistence of the Mentawai is simple farming be clearing the land from small and medium trees, burn the cut plantation for fertilizer. The main cultivation is 60 · CUTBACK · ABRIL 2013

yam (Colocasea esculenta), Taro (dioscoren Alata), rice, banana, papaya, sugar cane, vegetable, and medicaments.

The Mentawai introduces rice since around 1930s, quiet in contrary with the rest of Asian ethnics who have been cultivating rice since farming revolution. Clearing the land is the assignment of men, while for the treatment of growing is taken over by women. The exclusive work dome by men is hunting of pigs, deer, birds, monkey and others using bows. It is know that before Christian religious reaching the island, youths and girls of 16-20 years among members of Uma, this ritual called Rimata. Rimata was also the 4 persons who was respected as the leader who take care of family heirs, and various social activities of an Uma. When a Mentawai is dead all his heritages were divided among his children, but if her did not have child it will be distributed for his brothers and sisters. For the women when she got married with a man and bring her children from her

previous marriage, these children would not got the heritage, as they would be given by their father or mother which during the marriage was separated from husband’s wealth.

Record in 1966 mentioned that 55% Christian, 34% Catholic and 11% Moslem. Although foreign religions have been accepted in Mentawai, yet original concept of ritual is continued, until now. The Mentawai has the concept of life and after here. The spirit that bring human to alife is called “Simagere”. When human being is dead his/her spirit left the body and live around human place. This spirit is called “Sabulungan”, The spirit that make human being to be strong and powerful is called “Kere”, while the spirit that protect houses called “Kira”, Evil spirits that can trouble human being is called “Sanitu”. The Mentawai also introduce magician who was consulted for medicament called “Sikeree” and cares of people a lot.

The basic concept of Sikerei is almost the same as other ethnics of the world, that using the stranger’s soul as the cause of the diseas or assumption that the patient has offensed their fasting had been intimate relation, beside also girls had been in intimate relation with her youth in her village. Some times a girl gives birth a child without formal marriage, which then the child will be cared by her parents. A formal marriage would then be reached if the couple advised their wish to their parents. Also friends, and neighbor will be informed of the marriage. It was not recorded, that following a marriage if was a special ritual or traditional ceremony such as in Nias. When a couple has reached their 40s, usually the husband build a new house to upgrade his status in the society. With his new status he then become a busy man to fulfill traditional activities in the village, doing very strict fasting season which is called “Punen”. The fasting limited man in meals, ABRIL 2013 · CUTBACK · 61

wave hunters - Mentawais

This is a challenging trek that will take you from the tourist trail, into the Mentawai Islands.

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economic activities and intimate relation. With his new status he would also add more burden to take care of his sons, daughters and even grand children. His new house would be completed with charms, relics, and other family heirs. In Mentawai word this new status of a family was called to have been reaching “Lalep”. Where a husband was respected by their society.

When Christianity reached the island changes happened and the meaning of “Penen” become holiday. On Siberut island until today can still be seen a ritual of initiation for children or members between 12-15 years to become full member of the Uma. This will bring the equal right and obligation for the members that got initiation ceremony.

Normally the feast is big followed by skin tattoo age the leader of the mentawais tribe.

On 25 October 2010 a massive 7.2 Richter scale quake

devastated the lowland of Mentawai islands namely North Pagai island, Sipora and South Pagai island. The quake triggered a 12 meters high tsunami swept some villages left only land. damaged 25.426 houses, flattened six hamlets and forced 4,500 residents to evacuate to temporary shelters, according to report until 1 November 2010 300 people died and about 100 more were missing. The quake happened at 21.00 when all people at home and some might slept already. The tsunami came only 10 minutes after the quake. The disaster is only 1 year after the massive quake struct West Sumatra killing 1000 persons in 30 September 2009, deadly quake and tsunami of Aceh in 26 December 2004, and Nias lethal quake in 28 March 2005 killing more than 8.000 mentawais people.

Lifestyle, traditions, and tribal customs of the Mentawai tribe are attractions that would not be found in any other place in the world. Witnessing the unique way of life.

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wave hunters - Mentawais Mantawais

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Friendly people, incredible cultural heritage, lots of things to be learned, even they live the way people did in Stone Age.

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