Bluespace
by Michael Machemer

Grant Myrdal is a must-be-free Saffa of Port Elizabeth kind in a country-feeling exile. He lives on a farm Upstate some 70 miles from the ocean, where he does construction work between Starbucks runs. His wife, Michal devotes her days to the horses she adores. They faithfully await the green card green light and can neither leave the States nor return to South Africa. Still, Grant has managed to put himself in the pit at 10 ft. Backdoor/Pipeline 3 months each year for the past 5 years. He may be a “nutter” for swimming and working in such conditions, but the photographic work he yields is delicately composed, often times abstracted and possesses a painterly nuance of form with wonderful vibrancy of color. Mesmerizing oceanic hues of blue and purple make it easy for one to overlook the inherent danger in his work. Many of Grant’s finest images are captured while escaping death.

His comfort in North Shore surf undoubtedly stems from his upbringing in South Africa. As a dedicated contest surfer throughout his youth, he won two consecutive amateur championships in maxed-out Jeffries Bay conditions (ages 13 and 14, on twin fins) and more prestigiously, the 1987 Country Feeling Classic/Billabong Pro at JBay at 21. Recognized by Derek Hynd for his power surfing and ability to ‘burn rooster tails’--an elusive nod to the great MP’s own ‘penchant for powerfully and precisely ripping rooster tails.’ Grant gave up a promising pro career for university and later became an urban planner in Durban where he spent his time designing and building commuter roads for poor villages. By 1992 apartheid was still 3 years off and desk job dread had set in. With a brother in Mandela’s ANC, his house bugged and the regime harassing his parents, it was time to bounce-say “exe” (as they say).

With Michal by his side, he left South Africa for Europe. A subtle freeze in the UK thawed into a flight to JFK, and a rather humbling exchange rate. They stayed briefly with a friend in Harlem and then headed west to SF where Grant was re-acquainted with manual labor and powerful surf (see: Ocean Beach). Soon after, a trip to Mexico was set in motion by the freelance (non)work schedule. A second trip followed though further south to CR (by way of Humboldt, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua), where Grant was deemed honorary feeling-style-Salsa-Brava-charger and onetime guest at Captain Zero’s dog-ranch. On the way back to SF, an invitation to ski at a friend’s place in the mountains was honored, his surfboard traded for a snowboard and an extended holiday in Utah. Two years later, the slopes gave way to a return trip back east and a chance for citizenship through Michal’s employer. Extensively traveled, he still claims some of his best barrels have been at Mash Down Babylon’s, in North Jerz.

At 39, the country feeling kid is still very much alive in Grant. His commitment and grom-like enthusiasm for both surfing and photography inspires young and old, amateur and pro, to push their surfing and/or photography a little harder, not necessarily for the camera, but rather to gain the respect of Grant, a rare individual whose art is as strong as his surfing (and vice-versa). He is represented by Belenky Brothers in SoHo, NYC where he shows annually. Don’t be shy to checkout his latest work, “Bluespace’ at Belenky, 151 Wooster St. until January 2006.

all ('cept two) photos by: Grant Myrdal