For the last quarter of the 20th century, the decline in popularity of the British seaside resorts – Whitley Bay included – has also been well-documented. This decline, like that in California was also due to economic conditions and the accessibility of foreign travel and package holidays, and consequently Whitley (like Dog Town) faced dwindling visitor numbers and disused facilities falling into disrepair.  Whist seaside resorts all over the world have suffered economic hardship, however, the appeal and beauty of the sea, and the spirit of the seaside prevails.

 

One notable connection between California and the north east coast of England, is the significance of surfing. The earliest written account of surfing in fact came from the visit of Hartlepool’s Captain Cook to Hawaii in the 1770s. Tynemouth has world-class waves and surfing celebrities, and regularly hosts major surfing competitions such as the British Open Championships drawing in over 5,000 visitors each year.

 

Concrete Waves (2012) combined digital video projection with performance art. We filmed local people skateboarding at the Panama Skatepark during the day and then re-project the edited footage onto the park itself for the Shimmer event. Skaters appeared and disappear like ghost...

 

Clips of local surfers and competitors from Tynemouth’s international surfing events were also projected onto the park, emphasising the debt owed to surfing by vert skatboarding and concrete skateparks. 

 

Three performance artists - two skaters and a BMX rider - performed throughout the two nights of the Shimmer festival wearing bespoke multi-coloured glow suits.