Kyana Ciel Browne Dixon x Jackman Chiu

Hi I’m Kyana and I worked with Jackman Chiu to create this board. Jackman Chiu is a graphic designer and illustrator from Toronto working at Jacknife Design. I was excited to collaborate with Jackman Chiu because we share a similar illustrative style and I enjoy his use of bold colours. Through our discussion about futurisms, Chiu and I developed a hopeful concept of what the near future will look like. We would like to see a shift in the silencing culture of abuse and other maltreatment of humans; our hope is that individuals will rise up to use their voice and reach out for help. Our board depicts imagery of victims of abuse and allies fighting the status quo in an act of resistance and strength. To create this board, I completed the woodworking of the deck and we collaboratively digitally designed the graphic (applied using a vinyl sticker). The characters and fonts are a combination of both of our styles; we chose to include characters that look differently to reflect the various experiences and repercussions of abuse in individuals’ life.

Tasked with making sense of the very broad idea of futurisms, we chose to focus on a more immediate goal. We discussed how abuse-in all of its forms-is a worldwide issue that has continued for many years. Rather than accept this as an unfortunate reality that is not often spoken about, we want to open a dialogue with others to share support and hopefully stop this from happening. We thought this was an important societal problem to highlight with this board because we have observed a stark increase in mental health issues, including self-harm and suicide, in recent years. We hope that this imagery will encourage viewers to share more openly about what they are going through in their lives in order to reduce feelings of isolation and find the appropriate support that they need. You are not alone! <3

BOARD #2 - SOLD

Anna Deterville x Allister Lee

Hi there, I am Anna Deterville and I collaborated with Allister Lee to create a board that reflects our concept of futurisms. Allister Lee is an illustrator and graphic artist in Toronto that has both a commercial art practice and contributes to collaborative projects with other artists. Throughout our discussions, we arrived at the idea of creating character based on afro-futurisms; we learned in class about this concept of the combination of African culture with technology as time progresses. We imagined a distant future in which a powerful female spaceship captain explores the vastness of the universe. In this collaboration, I completed the woodworking and digitally designed the character graphic.

This board depicts a robotic female character that is a strong and powerful leader, even cold and calculated at times. However, what is not known about her is that she derives her power from being constantly tethered to the spaceship that she commands. This concept displays a hopeful image of women of colour in positions of power in the (albeit distant) future, and simultaneously brings up issues of the isolation that accompanies power. Although this character can travel the universe in this ‘mothership’, because she is powered from the cables through her back connecting her to the ship, she does not have autonomy to move freely beyond these confines.

Art Director, Creative Director, co-Founder

board #3

Breanna x Thomas Hadfield (Jacknife)

Hi I’m Breanna and for this collaboration I’ve been working with Thomas Hadfield from Jacknife Design. For this piece we were thinking about the amount of new buildings built rather than houses and communities. We also focused on population issues we noticed as a result of this. In big cities across the world, we thought a humane way to ‘take care’ of this issue would be for a giant spider to attack and destroy the overpopulated city. We collectively arrived at our idea, I prepared the board and created the graphic in my signature brand style, while Thomas utilized his skills as a graphic designer to contribute the typography. The imagery was then printed on a vinyl sticker and applied to the deck.

As the fictional spider takes hold of the city, the buildings would be smashed, and issues of overpopulation solved by eating the inhabitants. This concept reflects our anxieties about the future of our world; for instance, a lack of authentic connection between people, violence over communication, and an exponential growth in the concentration of populations. This imagery urges the public to focus more on building strong communities, rather than trying to rapidly build and cram as many people as possible into one space.

BOARD #5 - sold

Oscar x Soydawg

My name is Oscar (@graciousgrunge) and the artist I worked with is Soydawg. Soydawg is an artist that creates apparel, stickers, prints, and paintings that capture the shenanigans of life. He has also done design work with major clothing brands such as Nike and Vans. We arrived at our concept quickly, as the idea of futurisms aligns with the themes that are already present in Soydawg’s work (such as robotic characters). Our board features two giant characters participating in a Godzilla-like battle in a futuristic city. We collaborated by each creating a unique character and combining them in the design; Soydawg created the robot and I included the rat, which is the symbol for Gracious Grunge. I also woodworked the deck in preparation for the painting process.

Our imagery is a light-hearted depiction of technological and scientific advances in the future. As artificial intelligence capabilities continue to advance, we anticipate that-at some point in the future-intelligent machines will ‘take over’ civilization. Additionally, strides in the scientific community mean that genetically modified (perhaps giant) creatures and clones may become the norm. Our graphic plays with these ideas and depicts what might happen if these experiments were to clash…yikes!

BOARD #6

Selina X N3CTAR

My name is Selina, I’m in my last year of high school and over the past year I created my brand N3CTAR. The foundational belief of my brand is that nature is the centre of all; N3CTAR celebrates the intricate systems that sustain the land. N3CTAR advocates complete respect and thoughtfulness towards Mother Nature for all of the resources and privileges she affords humans. 

For this board I misted the background of the deck with vibrant floral colours. Then I glossed it and applied a gold top stencil inspired by the anatomy of a bee’s wing. When you look up close insect wings look futuristic- they have an iridescence and fluid shape that reminds me of human-made technology. I wanted to highlight the sophisticated beauty of nature and challenge the false binary we’ve created between the natural world and the human-made world. Our relationship to our ecosystem is the most important determining factor to how our future will unfold. 

Board #7

Artist Bio:

Julieta Arias is a Toronto based Artist. Primarily working with acrylic paint; Arias’ work creates depth through the emphasis use of colour. Her inspiration connects between spiritual literature, Japanese art techniques, and the photographic medium. 

Focusing on local youth; Arias’ work emphasises on collaborating with her skateboarding and art communities. She has worked with different organizations & artists; including Embassy of Imagination, Oasis Skateboard Factory, Roarockit, RAWArtists, Javid (JAH), Alexa Hatanaka, and Patrick Thompson.   

Her work constructs the stories and experiences of life’s journey; signifying her perception of the thread that connects us to the universe.

Board Bio:

“Days of Future Past” Board

Acrylic on Wood

This board is inspired by Marvel Comics’ ‘The Uncanny X-Men’ issue #141-142 “Days of Future Past”, published in 1981.

This story paints a powerful apocalyptic future in ruins; by machine robots overthrowing society’s equilibrium, conquering, and eliminating humanity.

In order to protect the future from chaos; they must change the past (present) events to construct a diplomatic conclusion amongst the mutants and humans.

It’s an influential example of historical wars resulting in destruction and prevention of the past repeating itself. It demonstrates an abstract concept of our past, present, and future timelines.

BOARD#8

Alicia Né Reis x Julia St. Amour

My name is Alicia, my brand is Monstra and it exists to inspire us to own our inner monsters. My monster graphics represent different challenges in life that we cannot change and encourages people to embrace both the beautiful and dark sides of life. The artist that I collaborated with is Julia St. Amour, she is an OSF alumni and tattoo artist at Ink and Water Tattoo. Julia describes her style as ‘industrial pussy punk’ and I connected with the duality of cute and creepy content within her work. Julia and I arrived at our concept through discussing shared personal experiences. To create this deck, I completed the woodworking and spray painted the background before Julia added the imagery of the figure.

Our creative process for this board entailed discussing pressures that we have both experienced to fit into binaries and societal norms of femininity. We decided to focus our board on empowerment and embracing both our soft and hardcore sides. While the female figure on our board exists in a dystopian futuristic environment, our intention was to focus on a more personal conception of futurisms. Unconcerned with the external environment in which she exists, the figure portrays independence and confidence; we anticipate that females will continue to be powerful and complex beings regardless of what the future brings. Our character stomps on all of societies’ expectations.

BOARD #9- SOLD

Michael x Champstiles

I’m Michael, my brand is Lonewolf Skates and it exists to be thrashed. I collaborated with Champstiles (Chris Burns) to create this board. Champstiles is a skilled Toronto-based wood burner. I was excited to work with Champstiles because I admire his sick design style and the level of detail in his imagery. In the initial stage of this collaboration, we discussed what we would want to change in the near future and focused our ideas on the educational system. Both of us shared the opinion that traditional schools often resemble the prison system and do not effectively prepare individuals for how to be successful in life. We came up with the concept for the graphic collectively, I then pressed and woodworked the board and Champstiles added the imagery by burning it into the deck.

Our collaborative board depicts the metaphorical widespread destruction of existing educational institutions. The wolf-the staple symbol of my brand-sports a hockey helmet with lasers shooting out of it destroying a school; this reflects my attitude towards the current state of this system. The helmet was added as a satirical nod to a shared interest in hockey of both Champstiles and myself. Considering futurisms, we wanted to display our hope that the regimented and arbitrary nature of schools will eventually change. In my opinion, the majority of learning comes from ‘real life’ experiences and does not occur inside of school. Mandatory credits, a lack of practical learning, and the forceful confinement of students are all elements of education that provoked the wolf to destroy it.

BOArd #10 - SOLD

Sean Young x Harv Glazer

Hey! I’m Sean and this is my second collaborative board for this exhibition. I had the pleasure of working with Harv Glazer, who is a multitalented filmmaker, artist, and company owner. You may know his work from his Or-G snow and skate company ‘back in the day’, cameos and directorial work in music videos alongside artists such as Drake, or his origami-inspired artwork. When discussing our board, the issues of overconsumption and the corporatization of our world came up for both of us. We drafted a concept for a graphic that would illustrate this. I prepared the skateboard and designed the figures in a line drawing style that is emblematic of my brand, and Harv contributed the background of repeated skulls in his signature style.  

The overlapping collage of heads in our design, ‘devouring’ itself in an endless process, represents the continuous process of consumerism in our culture today. We wanted to tackle issues of mass-production that contribute to low-quality products that are continually distributed and need to be re-purchased. Additionally, this never-ending cycle inevitably leads to waste, pollution, and therefore increases the progression of climate change. We are hopeful that society will recognize how destructive their habits are; however, we anticipate that these behaviours won’t change in time.

BoARD #11

Sunny Barbaza-Cousineau x Andrew Scott

My name is Sunny, I play guitar and do vocals in a band called Goths Next Door, I also do the graphic design for our merch and my own brand. I started the band to be a socially conscious and confrontational metal group, which speaks out against abuse and oppression. I was presented the opportunity to work with artist Andrew Scott, who plays drums in the Canadian alternative band Sloan. Andrew’s artwork mainly incorporates oil paints, stained wood, and other materials. He paints realistic portraits-often of dogs- in a blue monochromatic colour scheme. He also works in collage, which was a contributing factor for how we came up with the design for our piece. To create this board, I woodworked the board and Andrew artfully arranged the graphics into a collage.

Andrew leaned into our common love of music when creating the graphic. He used found images to create a visual cacophony and incorporated our shared signature ice blue colour scheme. The board can be interpreted a few ways- one viewer might see the graphic as a chaotic and discordant prediction of the future, while another could see the layers of hand and animal nose as a beautiful layered symphony.    

BOARD #12 - sold

Luke x Kacie

Welcome, this board was created collaboratively by Kacie and Luke (Jester Skateboarding) and it depicts our conception of the future. Kacie is a Toronto-based graffiti and pop artist that contributed to the conceptual and visual design of this piece. We wanted to explore the ways that technology will simultaneously advance civilization forward and also destruct the planet on which it exists. To create this board, I pressed the deck using the Roarockit vacuum bag process and then Kacie contributed the graphic using his own signature style. 

Our collective piece portrays a broken down school bus being overtaken by nature. Using a trashed school bus is a comment on the mainstream education system, one that we both struggled through. It’s also a nod to the book and film “Into The Wild” about a young man leaving the comforts of civilization to live in an abandoned school bus in the Alaskan wilderness. Although it is representing decay and destruction of man-made technology it is also showing growth and rebirth. Our vision of the future is one where nature is resilient and our old oppressive institutions crumble away. 

BOARD #13

Heron x Rock 

My artist collaborator is Rock, a veteran graffiti artist and educator from Toronto. Rock has painted murals all over the city solo and with his UNC crew. You may recognize his Killroy characters and bold cartoon-inspired style from his many pieces in Kensington market. I’m working on my own graffiti style and building on the universe of characters I’ve created for my brand Extinct.

This deck is a true collaboration. I spray painted the outer-space background and dropped in the little astronaut character. Rock added the “Rocket” tag in his amazing lettering, a play on his signature and the theme of futurism. Since we both love playful characters and letters our interpretation of the future was a cheerful graffiti outer-space scene complete with a classic retro-future spaceship. 

BOARD #14- SOLD

Penny James x JC Knaff

Welcome to the future! My name is Penny and this year I met JC Knaff. I was excited to get the opportunity to work alongside a professional artist. JC Knaff is a painter and illustrator, as well as an Associate Professor at OCAD University in Toronto. For this piece, we did some active brainstorming by experimenting with design ideas on cardboard cut outs. I woodworked the board before handing it off to JC, who then added paint in his signature style. Finally, I responded to his intervention by contributing background embellishments to the design. 

The graphic on the board is a retro inspired interpretation of the future. We wanted to make something whimsical and playful. JC came up with the idea of the rolling ducks that could be an old wooden children’s toy or a futuristic melding of animal and machine. I added the vines in the background to build on the idea of nature’s central role in our future. The result is a board that looks both old and modern at the same time. 

BOARD #15

Baird Lamay x Steve Quinlan

Hi my name is Baird and the artist that I worked with was Steve Quinlan. Steve does typographic work and is an instructor at OCAD University. We collaborated to create our concept by discussing the idea of futurisms and sharing samples of our own work with one another. I completed the woodworking on the board and cut out the stencil with the typography that Steve provided. The words ‘Clean Air’ were decided on through a process of brainstorming our ideas for the future.

Our minimalistic design is intended to support the notion of ‘clean’ that our board is based on. In addition to only featuring one piece of text in a repeated ‘cloud’, the creation of the board was also made in a more sustainable way because minimal materials were used to create it. We recognized that the health of our planet and its creatures/inhabitants are in jeopardy as humanity continues to pollute the Earth. We also agreed that immediate action is required to save the planet and its resources; clean air has become increasingly more difficult to find in recent years. We are hopeful that this straightforward message will result in positive changes.

BoARD #16

 OSF Visionaries- George Stroumboulopoulos

George Stroumboulopoulos aka “Strombo” is a Canadian media personality best known for his work on Much Music and Hockey Night in Canada. He has been a great supporter of the Oasis Skateboard Factory alternative school program for years. As someone who dedicated his career to discovering and championing new musical artists and helping shape youth culture, he has understood the potential all of our talented students. Strombo has generously let us use his image on this board with all proceeds going to support OSF’s programming with at-risk youth. 

BOARD #17

 Sean Young x WayBad

Hello my name is Sean Young and the artist I collaborated with is WayBad (Ben Jensen). WayBad is a cartoonist primarily working with line drawings “usually about delinquents doing delinquenty stuff” (WayBad). WayBad enjoys creating designs that spread throughout the skate community and working with youth programs-such as OSF-to inspire the next generation of skaters. Inspired by the concept of futurisms, our discussions covered our views on capitalism, consumerism, and we ultimately arrived at a satirical vision of dystopia for the future. In our collaboration, I pressed and prepared the skateboard and WayBad created the line drawing-based on our concept-that I later digitally coloured using my signature brand palette. The image was applied to the deck using a vinyl sticker.

In our conception of this idea, WayBad and I reflected on the skateboard culture of the past and of today in which private property is ‘protected’ against the ‘nuisance’ of skateboarders. As this trend has not altered much over the years, we do not envision these attitudes changing in the future either. Perhaps though, as technology advances, machines will take over the task of monitoring corporate properties, as displayed through the image of ‘Securabot 5000’. In an ideal world, we would hope that businesses, the public, and the skate community could coexist harmoniously and share resources for one another’s advantage; however, as our board shows, we do not think this vision is a realistic one. 

BOARD #18- SOLD

OSF Visionaries- Martha and the Muffins 

Martha and the Muffins are a Canadian band founded in 1977. Famous for their smash radio hit “Echo Beach” and numerous albums, they pushed musical boundaries between punk, rock and new wave music helping to create a vibrant music scene in Toronto. Formed while members were students at OCADU, the band emphasizes link between visual arts, music and the power of youth to shape their own cultures. Martha and the Muffins have generously donated their image and autograph to OSF to help support our youth gain their high school diplomas and go on to be the next generations of skaters and creators! 

BOARD #19

Arianna Todman x Shel Kahn

Hello everyone, my name is Arianna and the artist that I worked with is Shel Kahn. Shel Kahn is an illustrator, a comic book artist, writer and video game designer who works in a variety of mediums. Inspired by the concept of futurisms, we collectively imagined an environment in which previously extinct mammoths-recreated by scientists- take part in a migration to space where they are guided by extraterrestrial friends. This journey takes place because Earth has become uninhabitable due to the actions of humans. Sparked by our shared fascination with mammoths and scientific discoveries and experiments, we collectively arrived at this concept. We shared roles in the creation of this board; I was responsible for the woodworking and designed the imagery of the mammoths and the aliens, and Shel created the background. We were so enthusiastic about the concept of reimagined mammoths and aliens that we created an additional piece in this collection, a hoodie featuring similar imagery.

We discussed the scientific community that have attempted to recreate the mammoth species in recent years and were also informed by the connection of this species to the impacts of climate change. This is cautionary tale for humanity of the impacts of climate change for all living things on Earth. In this strange future, alternate life forms from another planet rescue the mammoths from an ultimate doom that humans created and ignored. In our imagined reality, the aliens nurture the mammoths by guiding them to a safe paradise where they can coexist with the aliens in happiness. If humans continue to ignore the guidance of climate change experts, the consequences of this will be fatal to both humans and other species around the planet. Through our collaboration, we explored an alternate fate for a previously extinct creature-brought back by scientists in a hybrid form-to eventually abandon a doomed planet that has been mistreated by humans.

BOARD #20 - SOLD

 OSF Visionaries x Duke Redbird 

Dr. Duke Redbird is an established Indigenous intellectual, poet, painter, broadcaster, filmmaker and keynote speaker, he brings his breadth of cultural knowledge and artistic practice to the benefit of a global audience. Dr. Redbird was instrumental in the implementation of innovative multimedia, technologies and beyond, bringing an Indigenous approach to art education that was rooted in his pioneering work at OCAD University. Dr. Redbird’s legacy stretches far beyond his work in Canada. His art has been exhibited and his poetry has been published and translated in anthologies around the world.

OSF is continually inspired by Dr.Redbird. We’ve incorporated his teachings into our work to de-colonize school and skateboarding through our OSF Indigenous Skate program. We’re excited to honour Dr. Redbird with his very own skateboard! 

BOARD #21- SOLD

 Breanna x Amanda Bee

Hi I’m Breanna and this board was a collaboration between The Crafty Concubine (Amanda Bee) and Spider Spit. Amanda and I share an aesthetic interest in gothic and alternative styles of design; these styles influenced how we perceived the idea of futurisms and we collectively arrived at our concept. Amanda is an artist, illustrator, designer, and self-professed metal head. Our piece represents not only a shift in the physical spaces of this world, but in the attitudes and values of the people who inhabit it as well. This collaboration involved me cutting the board using a jigsaw, as well as painting the coloured base, before Amanda added the hand-painted imagery and the sculptural elements.

Our work provides a commentary on the gradual shift of the earth from a lush natural landscape to an increasingly hard, industrial, and mechanical environment. We imagine that this progression will continue into the future; thus, our imagery portrays a sense of dystopia for the future. We shaped our board as a figure that embodies this concept, she appears mechanical and grotesque. We imagined this imagery as a representation of the heightening lack of connection between humans, increased reliance on machines, and the corresponding degradation of values that will continue through the generations to come.

BOARD #22 - SOLD

Christina McLeod x Sharron Forrest

I am Christina and this is my second semester at OSF. For this Futurisms exhibition I collaborated with Sharron Forrest. Sharron Forrest is a mixed media artist who most notably creates laser-cut art works inspired by organic forms that exist within nature. During this collaboration we shared our individual art with each other, and our concept was inspired by an existing drawing in my sketchbook. Sharron provided the materials to create the skateboard’s 3D elements and I pressed the board before wood burning and applying the figure of the snake.

We decided to go for a less literal and more symbolic design in our piece. The snake imagery represents somewhat of a caution for the future. Thinking of our environmental concerns for the future, we recognize that all animals are-or will be-in danger of becoming extinct. While the majority of animals that make appearances in marketing campaigns to encourage people to contribute to save their habitats/livelihood are cute, cuddly, or iconic, on the other hand seemingly ‘unappealing’ or ‘dangerous’ animals (such as snakes) are often excluded. Furthermore, I question the validity of fundraising campaigns; how much of the contributions actually go towards the true cause? When considering the concept of futurisms, we wanted to recognize that all animals are crucial parts of our world’s ecosystem, and that they must be legitimately protected going forward.

BOARD #23

Joela Sila x Alexandra Iorgu

Welcome to our creation, my name is Joela Sila and this piece was created in collaboration with Alexandra Iorgu. This work represents the interconnectedness of all living things on this planet. Our collaborative board was created using plaster and wire elements and textured acrylic paint. This partnership was formed through our shared love and concern for the environment. We worked very well together because of both of our unique artistic strengths. I was responsible for the woodworking and template aspects of the board, and Alexandra excelled in the creative process of designing and applying the 3D elements to make it ‘come to life’.

In our piece we wanted to show the contrast between the natural and artificial world that we live in today. In imaging the future, we created a ‘flowing’ design for the physical shape of the board. The background was treated with dark and cool tones, along with harsh sculptural elements to indicate the destruction of our environment through increased industrialization and pollution. In stark contrast, the center of the board illustrates the combination of natural elements-plants and water-as essential to reconnect humans to the Earth. Both appear to be stretching towards each other and reaching out towards the human race to take care of these precious resources. This composition is meant to evoke a sense of the power of Mother Nature; it exists as a reminder to take care of the land, and the land will take care of you.

splash

BOARD #24

Eunice x Dark Visions 

This board is a collaboration between current OSF student Eunice and OSF legendary alumni Claudinne aka @darkk.visions. Eunice's brand Memento Moon exists to combine and past and present of the art world to propel us into the future. She is interested in combining traditional fine arts with tattoo art. Claudinne is a professional tattoo artist currently working at Smoke and Mirrors Tattoos. Her work specializes in clean linework  and original flash that's both dark and playful. 

For this piece Claudinne and Eunice embraced their love of skulls. Skulls often signify death but they can also be used as a reminder that we are all mortal and should enjoy life while it lasts. The mushrooms springing out of the skull represent a future where both death and growth are inevitable. As bodies die and break down they give life to a whole new generation.

der