New mural at Forks honours skateboard pioneer

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This article was published 20/07/2018 (2636 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Once known as the King of Corydon, Jai Pereira is now the face of The Forks’ Plaza Skateboard Park.

A graffiti-art mural depicting the face of Pereira, the late founder of Sk8 Skates shop, is being painted on the park’s exterior bowl to celebrate his memory and the 20th anniversary of the Graffiti Gallery art space.

Pereira and Alana Lowry were travelling on a motorcycle when they were killed on June 27, 2001 in a collision.

Through owning the Sk8 Skates shop, Pereira brought professional skateboarders into Winnipeg for demonstrations, ran local competitions and employed and sponsored local skateboarders, such as Colin Lambert, who now owns the Sk8 shop, located at The Forks after moving from the former Corydon Avenue location.

“Jai was instrumental in building the Winnipeg skateboarding scene to what it is today,” Lambert, 34, said.

He said he was nine years old when he started going to Sk8 Skates and met Pereira. At 16, he was sponsored by Pereira and the store.

“This is really great to have this here because it gives kids who never met him the opportunity to ask questions about who he was, what his impact was on the scene and to maintain his legacy,” Lambert said. “It looks incredible and I’m stoked to it every day when I skate.”

Julian Phethean, a professional artist from London, England who goes by Mr. Cenz, is painting the mural in freehand graffiti style with aerosol paint and using a black-and-white photograph of Pereira as inspiration.

“This is a really important place for him. He advocated skating in Winnipeg so it’s a real honour to be doing this,” said Phethean, 43, who has painted a number of well-known murals in London and is in Winnipeg for an exhibition of his art which will be on display at the Graffiti Gallery until Sept. 14.

The mural features striking blue and purple hues. It is located right behind the Scotiabank stage and the “Winnipeg” sign, which lights up at night.

“I’ve chosen these colours to link with the Winnipeg sign and to link with the skatepark bowl so it fits the setting and so you see bright colours which are going to really glow up at night as well for impact,” he said.

An artist for 30 years, Phethean said he was given a few photographs of Pereira to choose from for inspiration but chose one that showed “a deep look in his eyes” and “a strong pose.”

That photo is allowing Phethean’s mural to capture a special moment in Pereira’s life, said Pat Lazo, Pereira’s friend and the Graffiti Gallery’s artistic director.

“A good friend, Cam Nikkel, took the photo and it’s significant because it was after a professional skateboard demo that Jai had brought to Winnipeg. I remember going to them (the demos) as a kid, seeing a pro right here. I get chills thinking about it,” said Lazo, 41. “The photo was taken after the craziness and excitement of the event.”

He said he bought his first skateboard from Pereira when he was 12 years old and went on to work for Pereira in his shop in 1997-2001.

“The fact that it’s aerosol-based, we’re just trying to dispel that myth that it (graffiti art) is all vandalism,” said Lazo. “This is the most selfied spot at The Forks, with the human rights museum in the background. It’s the perfect spot to showcase this and pay tribute to Jai Pereira.”

ashley.prest@freepress.mb.ca