Herbie Fletcher’s Wrecktangles

While the snow belted down on New York and drifts piled up along the sidewalk on February 8, Herbie Fletcher pulled crates into the Hole Gallery, at 312 Bowery. Herbie’s exhibition, Wrecktangles, displayed an eclectic mix of surfboards that only someone as legendary as he could acquire. “The exhibition started to really take shape when our friend Julian Schnabel started to direct,” says Dibi Fletcher, Herbie’s wife, the mother of Christian and Nathan, and the beating heart behind Astrodeck. “What had looked like a sea of broken boards floating in the white water of the gallery floor were then lifted and given significant positions on six of the eight gallery walls. The Wrecktangles then took on a life and story that whether or not one possessed any knowledge of surfing could be appreciated. From the juxtaposition of the broken jagged shapes to the placement of the pros corporate sponsorship logos, these once perfect individually custom made wave riding tools all broken in the massive tubes at Pipeline were put together to create a dynamic piece of contemporary surf culture.” Photos by Dibi Fletcher.