Helge Tscharn: Capsule Silver Edition
In 1981, just three years after the first skateboards made their way from the USA to Germany, Helge Tscharn began documenting the beginnings of German skateboarding history with his camera. Himself part of the scene, Tscharn captured every phase of German skateboarding in his own distinctive style: He captured the raw beginnings of the 1980s, heavily influenced by the punk rock movement, in grainy black and white photographs, before color film and, occasionally, fisheye lenses came into use during the era of hip-hop and 90s streetwear. He witnessed not only the rise and fall of talent, but also the ascent of stars of the scene – and, not infrequently, their tragic downfall.
Tscharn was always there, always at the heart of it all, documenting the indie and emo waves of the 2000s, the DIY movement of the 2010s, and, of course, the present day, which absorbs and reinterprets all these influences. His photographs, spanning over 40 years, breathe the sweat and blood of the riders from every grain and appear like time capsules with an unmistakable sense of the moment.
Featuring portraits of: Lance Mountain, Jim Greco, Sonic Youth, Pantera, Motörhead, Marc Gonzales, Tom Penny, Prodigy, Aphex Twin, and many others.
