PARADIGM SHIFT
My True Wind project is about changing the paradigm of windsurfing, embracing the fantasy and making it a reality. Doing freestyle moves at physically impossible places and capturing that moment. Every True Wind picture should make the viewer take at least a second good look to understand the logistics of the scene. It’s all about thinking outside the box… Something I realised throughout my windsurfing career is that the media loves to feature the utopian beaches with silky white sand and the usual palm trees to frame our action. Don’t get me wrong, Cape Town and Maui are meccas of our sport and it just wouldn’t be the same without them. But, year after year, the only things that seem to change are the flashy chromatic range adorning the sails and occasionally the rider. So what I realised when traveling to such epic spots is that, while the action there is irreplaceable, there are still uncountable horizons that remain unexplored.
This is when I started to picture windsurfing in completely different sceneries. How about bringing some “Street style” like we see in snowboarding, wakeboarding or even skateboarding into our windsurf world? Not only could one change the standardised backdrops of virgin beaches and palm trees, but also incorporate a greater variety of lifestyle through new pictorial elements – even by means of applied arts. I would like to see our sport connected to architecture, new colours and forms, people and creative surroundings. True Wind is not only about transcending boundaries within our sport, but also experimental art. I want to put my windsurf action somewhere else other than where it’s expected. I introduce the action to unimaginable places and take it further by altering the caption on canvas. I emphasise the contradicting factors by introducing an unreal colour scheme that blends into the scene to create a surrealistic image.