“SKATERS” is an intriguing series of portraits that explore the lives and mind space of skateboarders from across the globe.

Artist/photographer Nicki Toole notes that rather than spontaneously capturing the skaters on the street, she arranges a date and location to make their portraits.

When photographing she asks her subjects to “look down the barrel of the lens and to enter the same solitary mind space they have while skating”.

Toole denies being influenced by the conventions of traditional portraiture, where wealth, power and legacy are displayed through acquired ornaments, garments and jewellery. Nevertheless, such a comparison cannot be avoided.

The skaters might not seek to promote social stature, but do so by combining different branded clothing, fashion and their own signature skateboards in the form of the Malibu-style board, the banana board or the modern rig.

For some of Toole’s subjects, skateboarding is a profession, for others it is a lifestyle. All the skaters strive for their own individuality but perhaps battle with the contradiction that they are all products of a branded, global and consumerist look.

Following on from “Space Invaders” at the NGA last year, “Skaters” is another testament to an increasing interest in the forces of identity within street art and street culture.