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Eden 2008 surfboard

Artist Phillip George (Australian, born 1956)

Maker Mark Rabbidge

Date2008

Object number00045867

NameSurfboard

MediumDigital decal, fibreglass and polystyrene

DimensionsOverall: 2130 x 520 x 70 mm

ClassificationsArt

Credit LineANMM Collection

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DescriptionA triple fin surfboard made by Mark Rabbidge and decorated by Phillip George with Ottoman tile motifs of the Garden of Eden photographed by the George in a mosque in the Middle East. The original colour and shape of the decal decoration has been modified to fit into the shape of the surfboard. The use of burnt orange and yellow is a reference to the Australian landscape and beach. HistoryThe surfboard and surfing culture is seen as being identifiably "Australian", representing a self-perception of freedom, albeit an illusion, of a happy go lucky culture free of constraints. Surfing is both transformative in its potential and meditative in its possibilities. Phillip George uses the surfboard, a symbol of "Australia", to raise questions and insights into the cultural differences that exist in the country. The 'Cronulla Riots' of 2005 shone the public spotlight onto simmering racial tensions between different cultures, in this case those 'locals' from the beach suburb area and visitors from the western areas of Sydney, most notable those of Middle Eastern heritage. Encounters turned violent, police were called in and the media covered the fall out extensively. It is in this area of social and racial conflict that Phillip George explores with his work. His work draws connections between Australian beach culture and the fractured, turbulent zones of the Middle East. Across a border between the familiar and unfamiliar, the known local and the foreign stranger.SignificanceThis surfboard is from the installation BORDERLANDS when Phillip George created 30 surfboards into sacred objects of veneration. The surfboards are familiar as their shapes are recognisable and everyday and could be found easily at Maroubra or Cronulla. The boards stood vertically and occupied space in a grid evenly spaced like a forest of totemic signs facing east towards Mecca.

In a post Cronulla Sydney, the idyllic notion of the beach being the great social equaliser has been shattered and the beach can never be the same innocent site of pleasure.