For many on the Central Coast, the ocean is a way of life and it’s hard to picture living anywhere other than next to the lively body of water.
Between now and October, land-loving locals and ocean afficionados alike can be immersed in a world of surf history, culture, and communities at the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art (SLOMA) exhibit Whose Waters?, featuring nine artists (some local, some not).
During an artist panel on July 13, SLOMA’s chief curator, Emma Saperstein, said that when she first moved to the Central Coast in 2016, she knew she wanted to start surfing pretty much right away and was nurtured by a sweet local community.
“As I started to work on the show, I started to make unique experiences—I mean the Central Coast in general is a more nurturing community. There’s less of a water base, it feels more supportive. But it’s also ... nurtured in a very specific way, and that’s certainly not everyone’s experience,” she said. “This show is sort of meant to comment on that.”
In addition to the three artists featured below, the exhibit includes boards by Central Coast surfboard shaper Shea Somma, photographs by Catherine Opie, tintype photography by Joni Sternbach, drawings by Sandow Birk, stills from a video by Vernon Ah Kee, and a film by Tracey Moffatt.
