Mark Cunningham love’s the North Shore & Discovers Art everywhere….

Recreational and Archaeological beach combing with legendary waterman reveals an often forgotten world

Surf News Network, 2 January, 2018.

Though born in Massachusetts, Mark Cunningham was ‘Made in Hawaii’. His love affair with Hawaii’s ocean is nearly 6 decades long. That’s quite a romance for one of the best body-surfers in surfing history. Life guarding on the North Shore is one thing, doing it for almost 20 years at Pipeline is quite another. Indeed, Hawaii’s Ocean Ambassador served … locals, visitors and international surfers in and out of the water for a generation…with pleasure.

Mark retired over a decade ago and has time to continue being creative…

“When the conditions allow, I don mask, fins and snorkel and make the most out of exploring and scavenging reefs and impact zones for exercise and treasure,” says Cunningham. “Archaeological beachcombing between Makapuu and Kahuku on Oahu’s Windward shoreline, provides pieces of life, stories and adventures. Remains of a wipeout, a forgotten wallet brought into the inviting waters, the shiny and new becoming corroded and encrusted in their underwater resting place are resurfaced and brought back to land to question what happened.”

In 2017, The Great Highway Gallery in San Fran hosted Mark’s work as part of his “Shorepound Lost & Found” exhibit which included the work of Jonathan Steinberg.

The Great Highway

Here’s some fun visual of Mark’s Body Art….

Since taking his first North Shore Bodysurfing Championship as a high schooler in 1974, no one has established themselves better in bodysurfing like Mark Cunningham. In this episode of Inner-Views presented by VSTR, Mark reminisces on choosing the path of a simple life on the North Shore of Oahu as a lifeguard and waterman.

Producer
Cyrus Sutton