Skater

Since 2009 Melbourne-based photographer Nikki Toole has been making photographic portraits of skateboarders around the world. Nikki discovered that skating allowed her to slip into a meditative zone, and she wanted to ask the question, did other skaters feel this disconnect. 300 skaters and three years later, she reveals that the identity of the lone skateboarder is part of a deeper connection. "Much of my work explores notions of unconscious expression and the vulnerability of existing within a group or at the margins of a group. For me, the skater typifies both extremes of this existence. Many skaters speak of a solitary mind space while skating; of zoning into another state of consciousness. To make these portraits, I asked the skaters to place themselves within this meditative space." Nikki Toole was born in Scotland. She exhibited in Australia, Britain,USA, and Germany. Toole's works have been selected for the National Portrait Gallery's National Photographic Portrait Prize five times. Her work is held in private and gallery collections worldwide. Skater was exhibited at The National Portrait Gallery of Australia in 2012 and Portrait Gallery of Australia in 2012 and toured during 2013.