The Thousands

Encouraging signs of positive change amid Sydney’s cultural landscape:

Exhibit A: The Galeries (formerly Galleries Victoria). Long-term home to printed matter powerhouse, Kinokuniya. Over the years it has collected outposts of many of the most inventive, fun, sharp stores in Sydney; Incu (separate Mens and Womens stores), Carharrt, Via Alley, Graniph, and Alphaville (to name a few).

Exhibit B: Fixed Up, an exhibition of art and artifacts relating to fixed-gear bike cultureat The Galeries. Whether you’re well versed in ‘velo’ and ‘pista’ or have no idea what they mean (like me), come check out the art displays or race on their stationery bikes. For real.

Exhibit C: iconic, internationally-renowned skateboarder and hard-working, abstract-thinking artist Ben Barretto contributing art to the show, and a Mixtape for us. Woo-ha!

What makes a great mixtape?

I guess I enjoy it when a mixtape can give off some sort of energy. This mixtape is a collection of songs from some of my favourite skate video sections. I like the way that all these songs have taken on a new meaning for me and probably other skaters too – It’s hard for me to just hear them without imagining the visuals from the videos. It’s interesting how much power a song can have on a video section and vice versa. These particular songs are good on their own, but it’s a bonus for me that they have been complemented by great skateboarding.

What’s your favorite song on the mix?

I’d probably have to go with ‘Polyethylene’ by Radiohead, from Jason Dill’s section in Photosynthesis, awesome song, incredible skating – one of my favourite video sections of all time.

What do you love about riding fixed gear?

I enjoy the spontaneity and the intuition you have to draw on to shred through the city at peak hour. It’s like an extension of skateboarding, except you can go faster.

How do you think riding and skateboarding have effected your approach to making art?

I think that skating has allowed me to be more fearless within my practice, Im not so precious about what I do and am able to work pragmatically. A major part of my work relies on intuition – similar to how I would make decisions when Im skating on the street, I am able to react honestly and make things work for me with my art.

Favorite Sunday morning album?

Depends what kind of night Saturday was.