Ramiro Davaro has been down with the mag since day one. Literally, he had art in issue #1 way back in 2010. Since then he’s been an active artist all over the northeast, creating public murals, and also working on various initiatives to give back to local youth through art, skateboarding, and more. His most recent endeavor involves upcycling old, skated shoes into “quilts” in order to get them out of the waste stream and create art all at once. Read below for his artist statement and how you can contribute to this ongoing series.
As an artist, three of the core interests that influence my work relate to storytelling, recycling, and attention to surface. Right now, the storytelling element is fueled by my 25 years as a skateboarder and the other two are woven through as I reflect on the wider culture surrounding the sport. This involves repurposing discarded skateboard materials into works of art, altering and combining their surfaces into pieces that even non-skateboarders find compelling.
My goal for the Skate Shoe Quilt is to remove items from the waste stream and give them new life, continuing their role in the evolving story that is skateboarding. Quilting has traditionally been used as a vehicle for storytelling and by sewing used skate shoes together, their unique scuffs and marks combine to tell a wider narrative. The individual skaters who wore these shoes maintain their own voices, but also become part of something larger, mimicking the balance of individuality and community that one finds in a skate park. Each shoe has been transformed by stepping on hundreds of surfaces and by being victim to the insanity that is the repetitive practice of learning skateboard tricks. They are marked with ketchup stains, mud splatters, paint drops, ripped laces, and fabric tears, all the markings of a life lived on a skateboard.
The Skate Shoe Quilt series also speaks to the consumerism aspect of skateboarding and the fact that the industry once deemed a fad is now worth 1.5 Billion dollars. In our post-consumer world, it is often easier to find and repurpose finished products into artwork than truly raw material. DIY skate parks are built from whatever materials we can find and this project involves a similar spirit. I enjoy the challenge of having to be creative with materials and the satisfaction felt when I know that I am repurposing pounds of would-be garbage.
The two pieces I have created so far come from Town and Country Skateshop in Scotia NY – who collected these shoes for me from skaters that frequent their shop and ramp. I had Andrew from Knox Neon in Providence help me encase them in a wooden frame.
I am looking to collaborate with as many skate shops as possible so that we can take all of these shoe and give them a new life! You can send me an email and reach me at ramirodavaro@gmail.com .
