My friend Walter took his life in July of this 2022. His decorated body at the visitation is an image I will never forget. This was how I remembered him in his devoted life as a skateboarder. He was outfitted in a matching Spitfire Skateboard Wheels beanie and sweatshirt with his choice khakis and torn Vans. Walter lived for skateboarding. Our relationship was purely centred around sport. No talk of the weather, no talk of weekend plans, just skateboarding. My practice has been a place of critical examination of masculinity and subcultural expression. Skateboarding, and adjacent subcultural expressions provided both Walter and many others a vital way to heal, however, not enough on its own.

Largely in the language of drawing, I blend together heavy metal logos, graffiti, beer bottles, the latest skateboarding fashions. Through the culmination of these images, packed images of cartoony youth both fight and rejoice amongst themselves. I hope to express contradictory feelings towards the experience of being a young man, pointing towards violence, misogyny, and substance abuse, while also expressing truth in the healing properties of friendship and physical activities that proliferate skateboarding culture. These drawings contain great care for the plight for young men struggling against masculinity and patriarchy. 

Will Sutton (b.1999) is an artist, curator, and skateboarder based in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Will grew up listening to metal, writing graffiti, and skateboarding. Through these interests, Will found his passion for artmaking. After graduating college in 2022 with a BFA in Painting in Drawing from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Will’s creative research has taken the form of examining how gender affects mental illness and addiction, particularly in skateboarding. He has attended residency at Stove Works in Chattanooga, Tennessee and has shown at the Institute of Contemporary Art at Chattanooga, Dry Ice Gallery, and Wavelength space in Chattanooga. Alongside his artistic practice, Will has curated two exhibitions that highlight local emerging artists in the southeast. 

willsuttonartist@gmail.com
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