TASMANIA ART CLUB

BRENDON GIBBENS AND DION AGIUS EXPLORE THE LITTLE CHUNK HANGING OFF THE BOTTOM OF AUSTRALIA AND GET CREATIVE

- OLIVIER SAUTET

Dion is sporting a black beanie, black sunglasses (that he only takes off when he’s in the water), baggy pants, rings on every finger, and low-key tattoos on his arms. Brendon is standing next to him. With his short hair, skin so white you’d think it hadn’t seen the sun in months, and fitted T-shirt, he looks like a star student.

They’re as far as you can get from the sun-tanned, long blond-haired surfer stereotype. But they happen to be two of the world’s most talented free surfers whose approaches to riding waves sets them apart from the standard surfing clichés. As free surfers, they don’t have to adapt their surfing to fit contest judging criteria or adopt the personal discipline required to achieve success in elite-level competition. They can afford themselves the luxury of deciding how they want to surf and what they want to get out of the surfing experience. They’re colourful, off-the-wall characters, heavily influenced by all things artistic, for who the act of surfing is all about freedom and aesthetics.

Their vision of surfing is the exact opposite of the most common image of surfing today promoted by the WSL, where competitive performances and contest results are king.

As surfing prepares to join the ranks of Olympic sports and distance itself ever farther from its roots, this unbridled creativity is like a breath of fresh air. It pulls us back to our origins when the spirit of surfing was about simply enjoying the feeling of gliding on water.