720° – in conversation with Gyz La Rivière
''Fret Click is a group of guys.''
MAMA presents the exhibition 720° with Gyz La Rivière. 720° is a total installation with a 55-minute documentary about the Dutch skateboard pioneers and trendsetters of the Fret Click: ’12’ group. In this interview, MAMA talks to Gyz about the exhibition.
MAMA: Gyz, what exactly will you do with Fret Click at showroom MAMA?
Gyz: At showroom MAMA I will create the exhibition 720 ̊, or 720 degrees. That’s two circles, turning twice on your skateboard. 720 ̊ is about balance, maintaining control and simultaneous dizziness.
In 720 ̊ a documentary is presented which will have its premiere at MAMA’s. In the final months before the exhibition I will be working hard on the making of this documentary. It is created especially for the exhibition but also needs to be autonomous, to be good in its own regard.
And this documentary is on Fret Click?
This documentary is about Fret Click and Fret Click is a group of 12 guys who started skateboarding when they were around twelve years old. I belonged to them too. This large group of boys came from Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Brabant province and the Randstad area. Together we lived through the biggest, craziest adventures and we were really very good at skateboarding.
What exactly is Fret Click?
Fret Click is a group of guys.
And……?
Fret stands for friend. It’s kind of Brabant-English. Spelling friend wrong is kind of hip. The Click stands for the click between certain people. Fret Click is a combination of the two.
Were the Fret Clickers the best skateboarders in the Netherlands?
The best……. Yeah, a few of us were the best. It takes a while to get the knack of skateboarding. The average Fret Clicker started skateboarding in the late eighties and by the early nineties we’d become really good. Mike de Geus (r.i.p.) was Europe’s top skater.
''Now if you see someone wearing skateboard shoes of clothes it can also be someone who plays basketball.''
Was skateboarding well established in the Netherlands?
No, if you were in a strange town and saw someone walk around on skateboard shoes you’d know: Hé, that’s one of us! That’s completely different now. Now if you see someone wearing skateboard shoes of clothes it can also be someone who plays basketball. Things have changed a lot. In the early days skateboarding was minimal and yes, it was a different world.
Which role does Louisa Menke play?
In the exhibition there is a group portrait on the one hand and on the other an individual portrait on a woman, Louisa Menke is 24 years old and not a girl any more. She belongs to the next generation and is super talented, she skates like anything. As a professional skateboarder she lives the life that we couldn’t. That of course is also due to the fact that she is from another era and the culture has changed, the sport has developed.
Linked exhibition:
720°
Interview with Gyz La Rivière
Photos by: Frank Hanswijk & Lotte Stekelenburg
