The first piece of text to appear within DIY, upon the first white piece of matte paper is a quote from John Steinbeck’s novel ‘The Grapes of Wrath’,
‘The last clear definite function of man—muscles aching to work, minds aching to create beyond the single need—this is man. To build a wall, to build a house, a dam, and in the wall and house and dam to put something of Manself, and to Manself take back something of the wall, the house the dam; to take hard muscles from the lifting, to take the clear lines and form from conceiving.’
It is extremely relevant when placed among Gilligan’s photographs of constructions built by skateboarders upon often unused or forgotten terrain. The whole series of images describes how these obstacles are built with the upmost of spirit by a very dedicated class of skateboarder to make use of wasted land, and to create their own space with which to practise their art. The series includes images of constructions far removed from the public eye, those hidden in plain sight and even whole skate parks built by hand by dedicated groups of individuals.
The book itself is a joy to hold in the hand, the size of it is slightly shorter and wider than A4 at 287 x 246 mm. The cover image is easily the best choice from the whole set of photographs contained within the book, it is very eye catching mostly due to a central white construction that stands out amongst a sea of dull, rainy greys and greens. This photograph is printed directly onto the front cover, which is made out of a soft white paper on top of thick card, the card itself could be slightly thicker as it feels like it could easily be prone to bending. Upon opening the book the viewer is greeted with a magnificent turquoise end paper that brilliantly separates the whites of the paper and cover. There are two types of paper used within the book, a matte white almost translucent paper for the texts at the start of the book, and a white luster paper for the plates themselves, the transition from matte to luster adds to the polished feel of everything contained here.
The start of the book contains two texts, the first of which is an essay by Iain Borden titled ‘A World Apart’. Borden is a professor of architecture and urban culture and author of the book ‘Skateboarding, Space and the City: Architecture and the Body’. His essay serves as an introduction to skateboarding, perhaps moving viewers with more of an opinion on skateboarders and skateboarding away from stereotypical views. It serves it’s purpose well and sheds an interesting light on skate culture from an academic's perspective, something that is rarely seen. The second text is a conversation between Paul Seawright, an established Irish photographer, and Gilligan himself. The conversation is an interview of sorts, with Seawright asking questions and Gilligan providing answers. It serves as an interesting read and fleshes out the ideas behind the book well, but personally I would have liked to have seen an essay from Seawright as well as Borden’s.
The images themselves are magnificent. Often very banal and impersonal, Gilligan manages to shoot photographs of these creations from the perspective of an outsider to the skate community whereas in reality he is very much a part of it. There is no glorification of skateboarding, no stereotyping or no biased views. Just very obvious photographs that through their simplicity somehow show a connection that must exist between a skateboarder and these spaces they create. A few portraits spaced throughout the series serve to show the diversity that can occur within the skateboarding scene, and serve to add character to a body of work that is definitely not lacking as it is.
Overall I am extremely impressed with the 4 year series Gilligan has brought together into this book, and the book itself. It is a brilliant representation of the DIY culture within skateboarding, and a brilliant example of contemporary photography.
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