ARTS FEATURE
RIDE THE WAVE Kevin ‘Surf ’ Mitchell unveils The Couch Surfing Expedition, eight years in the making
Pg. 6 JULY 13 - JULY 26, 2022 - QCNERVE.COM
BY AUTUMN RAINWATER
I met up with Kevin “Surf” Mitchell at SouthPark Church the day after he held the opening reception there for his new exhibit, The Couch Surfing Expedition. Known for his photographic work highlighting local musicians and artists, Surf took The Couch Surfing Expedition cross-country, setting up photo shoots — with dozens of local creatives as collaborators — depicting his subject in front of some of America’s most iconic settings. I met Surf in 2016 when he was doing product shots for my brother Pat, who owns Armada Skate Shop. We quickly found that we travel in many of the same circles. What I didn’t know is that Surf had already been working on The Couch Surfing Expedition. Having first launched the effort in 2014, the project has evolved in many ways since then. The premise of the Couch Surfing Expedition as it exists in its most current form is, typically, 10-15 creative collaborators travel to a destination to set up for a photo that depicts a person, Surf’s wife Kaylin Little, sleeping in onesie pajamas on a loveseat-sized couch. Oftentimes the shoot, which may be in the midle of a busy street or other difficult location, would need to be set up, carried out and broken down in a matter of seconds. Although the trips were centered around getting the shot, they were also designed as a tool of reflection for the everyday creative. Surf speaks through people that are in different walks of life and on different journeys, including people that have never been outside of the state and are sharing their first experience through Couch Surfing. I know Surf to be the busiest of busy bodies, so when he offered to accommodate my request for an interview during his opening reception on July 1, I encouraged him to focus on being present for the party and I would stop by the next day. Opening night occupied two floors in SouthPark Church: the second floor for the exhibition and the fourth floor for performances, light refreshments and a rooftop view. The ambiance was set with performances by Makeda Iroquois and Nia Zhane,
with none other than local hip-hop legend and longtime Surf collaborator Elevator Jay taking over DJ duties. As one of the many creatives that has traveled with Surf on his Couch Surfing tour, or expedition, as he calls it, Jay gave Surf a warm introduction to the stage to speak on his journey thus far. Not one to hog the spotlight, Surf invited everyone that was a part of the Couch Surfing tour on stage to share stories, testimonies and a few laughs. Elevator Jay told a story about the most recent Couch Surfing trip to Salvation Mountain, a 28-yearold man-made mountain in the California desert that’s been called a “fantasy world art installation” covered in latex paint. Jay talked about driving through Slab City at night, saying it “looks like somewhere you can die.” Kenion Sherill, also known as Charlotte rapper Cuzo Key, grabbed the mic and said, “Y’all wanna talk about Vegas?” and everyone on stage shared a different expression — mostly laughter — which made me want to be on the inside of all the inside jokes. After a few more hilarious stories from some of Charlotte’s notable creatives like Carey J. King and Mariah “Peculiar Hippie” Scott, Surf thanked all the past and present couch surfers with gratitude: “We’ll be able to look back on this for the rest of our lives and that’s the most important thing.” Upon my return to SouthPark Church on the following day, I was greeted at the door by Sam Nameus, a Charlotte curator and one of Surf’s close friends. We chatted up the elevator to the second floor where Surf was. Before we started, Surf pulled out an old picture of me at a Couch Surfing photo shoot installation in 2016, which he held during an event at Studio 1212. As it turns out, I have been Couch Surfing before! (Or at least in the room.) We spoke about his goals for The Couch Surfing Expedition, how it’s evolved, and what it will look like in the future.
A PIECE FROM THE COUCH SURFING EXHIBIT.
Queen City Nerve: I honestly had no idea that Couch Surfing started in 2014. What initially sparked the idea? Kevin “Surf” Mitchell: It really represents the risk that artists take and the struggles that they go through to get to wherever they want to go. Every great success story starts with a couch. The couch is the representation of the start of the journey. So, it’s like an ode to the starving artist? Yes, definitely.
PHOTO BY KEVIN ‘SURF ’ MITCHELL
big into skateboarding at one point. Man, you couldn’t tell me I wasn’t tryna go pro! (laughs) My early teenage years? Boy! I was off the chain, my mom was probably at her wit’s end! You brought your mom up last night when you talked about her buying you your first camera. Well actually, my very first camera was a little Kodak point-and-shoot. My friend sold it to me for $15 and I never gave him the money. (laughs) But the homies started gassing me, telling me that I had a natural eye and it just put a fire in me. My pictures weren’t turning out like the photographs that I would see and think were dope, so I started doing research on how to do things and it just went from there. I had a bug then.
And how is it similar or different from the original idea or concept eight years later? I would imagine it’s gone through several changes. Well, at first, it wasn’t as refined. Looking back, I think I didn’t really know how to get the message across because I was young and I just wanted to do Marc Pendergrass, local photographer and something. Sometimes you don’t know what you’re photography instructor, mentored Surf and helped doing until you’re in the middle of it. guide what was the beginning of Surf’s photography career. Why SouthPark Church as opposed to your typical exhibit space? Marc taught me business and everything I know. So, I have over 40 images for Couch Surfing Because of that, I developed a backbone and I had and I wanted to be intentional about space and to unlearn everything I learned growing up because the layout. I love the exclusivity of the space. I was sometimes, in Black households, you adopt that also drawn to it because of the [fourth-floor] stage, broken mentality. because Couch Surfing creatives weren’t just visual artists, they were musical artists as well. So I wanted I can relate to growing up looking at the to maintain that family element with both. world a certain way and then getting older and gaining perspective, then shaping your What were you doing before you were a own world and identity because of it. photographer? I seem to remember you were Yeah, and even after working for UMG [Universal
