Interview with Atiba Jefferson by Chris Danforth.
I first heard the name Atiba Jefferson in relation to the skate scene in Los Angeles. Over the years, Jefferson has had access to a who’s who of not only skating, but music, sports, pop culture and more. Whether sitting in on a Henry Rollins photoshoot and quietly clicking the shutter through a long lens, or being commissioned to snap portraits of the Jumpman himself, Atiba has accumulated a wealth of experience during his tenure as a photographer and multi-creative. When speaking with Atiba, there was a lot to cover, as you can’t place his work into only one silo. In this sense, he seems to be a caricature of the modern creative; being well-versed in multiple creative mediums.
How did the HVW8 exhibition in Berlin come to fruition?
It came together at the last minute. I was in Berlin, working with Oakley on a new project, traveling with Sean Malto and Eric Koston, and they asked us to come over for a sales meeting. Tyler asked me to do it, and I was enthusiastic about the project, especially because I was already there.
So you knew him from LA?
Yeah, that’s the one gallery I show at in LA. So I’ve done a couple of shows at his gallery in LA and stuff like that.
Do you have other relationships with galleries like that in the States where you only want to show at one particular gallery?
I don’t regularly show my work but I do have a friend whose group show I’m always trying to be a part of. And then smaller stuff but I only started doing solo shows after I met Tyler.
What about the name of the exhibition? Could you explain that as well?
Titles are always a little bit tricky to come by. I’ve been listening to “So Long, Lonesome,” this Explosions in the Sky song. They’re an instrumental band – pretty big in the U.S. They’re one of my favorite bands actually. I saw them on their first tour in 2000 or 2001, and they were playing to some four people. Now they play huge festivals, in front of eight to ten thousand people at a time. The funny thing is, I was backstage at the Fuck Yeah festival in LA, and the dudes in the band were passing me. They called out to me because they knew who I was. I turned around and recognized them as well. After that we became really good friends.
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