Mark Suciu 'Verso'
Verso
/ËvÉËsÉÊ/
noun
- 1. a left-hand page of an open book, or the back of a loose document.
- 2. the reverse of something such as a coin or painting.
There's been a lot of online speculation in recent months as to what Mark Suciu's latest project would entail. Originally intended for an early August release (and even having a couple of physical premieres), conjecture was abound regarding the potential of an entirely mirrored part, a switch tre down Wallenberg that took three years to land and even the prospect of it being a massive let down. Let us tell you now, none of these are true!
What we can confirm is that skateboarding will never be the same again; this is 12 minutes with no filler and SOTY status is undeniably inevitable. More importantly though, this is the catalyst for the intellectualisation of skateboarding and a complete reevaluation of the structuring of stand alone video parts. Actually, calling it a standalone or "solo" video part is technically a misnomer, if anything this is a solo full length!
Now obviously the trickery is amazing, with the fastest of fast footwork and the deftest of touches just like you'd expect, but it's the conceptualisation and the structure of the trick choices in the final song that completely changes the game (and where the definition of the title really becomes pertinent). A breakdown of the thought process behind it has already been posted by Jenkem and it explains it much better than we ever could:
In the final section of Verso, Mark Suciu shares what only the most passionate denialists would call a poem: the first ever skateboarding chiasmus (a rhetorical or literary figure in which words, grammatical constructions, or concepts are repeated in reverse order).
The sequence is important enough that had he not gotten the trick, he and Justin were prepared to end Verso after the Blubba noseblunt. The frontside fifties form a pair, the first and last tricks. The second trick is a nollie front heel fakie 5-0 revert (frontside), which pairs with the thirteenth trick—the trick of famous delay—a nollie back heel fakie nosegrind revert (backside). So the thirteenth trick is a totally fucking bonkers pretzel maneuver that reflects or inverts or reverses the second trick. The same goes for the third trick, a nollie crook, and the twelfth trick, a fakie crook. And so on, unfolding a sequence that represents a totally new realm of skateboard poetics.
If that's a bit much for your brain to process when all you want to do is watch some skateboarding, don't worry, we doubt you're alone. Just enjoy it for what it is and remember where you were the first time you saw it because skateboarding is never going to be the same again. All hail Mark Suciu!