Top artists on board

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The collaboration between the Wavescapes Surf Film Festival and non-profit conservation group the Save Our Seas Foundation will see ten decorated surfboards sold to benefit ocean related charities such as the NSRI and the Shark Spotters.

The Wavescapes Surfboard Art Exhibition takes place from the 2 to 9 December at Depasco Café in Cape Town. Surfer comedian Mark Sampson will auction the boards to art collectors and the surfing cognoscenti. Thirteen artists, including Brett Murray, Conrad Botes, Anton Kannemeyer and Sue Opperman, decorated identical “Pipeline teardrop guns” made famous by Hawaiian Gerry Lopez in the early 1970s.

Each board has a single-fin keel skeg hand-crafted from exotic woods. Proceeds from previous art auctions have enabled the NSRI to launch two new rescue vessels at Kommetjie, and have supported the Shark Spotters in enabling co-existence at Cape beaches.

Brett Murray, dubbed the “Dark prince of South African pop (art)”, is a returning artist to the exhibition. Anton Kannemeyer and Conrad Botes bring their acerbic social commentary from Bittercomix. Sue Opperman – a surfer and student at the Centre for Comic and Illustrative Book Arts at Stellenbosch University – joins the Trantraals as newcomers to Wavescapes. The centre is headed up by another returning artist, the enigmatic ND Mazin.

Artists: The  full line up of artists includes Andre Trantraal, Andy Mason, Anton Kannemeyer, Brett Murray, Conrad Botes, Gabby Raaff, Justin Fiske, Kim Longhurst, Nathan Trantraal, Richard Hart, Ross Turpin, Scott Robinson and Sue Opperman.

The boards: The Pipeline teardrop gun was made famous by Gerry Lopez in Hawaii in the early 1970s. It was designed to handle steep drops and hold an honest line in the challenging waves of the North Shore. Each has a single-fin keel skeg, hand-crafted from exotic woods. The boards are 7'7" (length) x 20" (width) x 3" (thick).

The exhibition: Runs at Depasco Cafe, corner of Kloof and Buitensingel, Cape Town, from Wednesday 2-9 December. Opening hours are 07h00 to 17h00. Phone 021 4247 070.

The auction: After the exhibition, a special auction will be held on Wednesday 9 December. Proceeds go to the NSRI and the SharkSpotters. To attend the auction or to place a reserve on any of the boards, email chris@wavescape.co.za or call 079 0260 669.

 For more information on the exhibition or the film festival, go to www.wavescape.co.za or call the info line on 079 026 0669.