Dion Agius Enters His Maximalist Era

From 1900 to 1904, Pablo Picasso was in, what art historians call today, his Blue Period. The somber, sapphire-hued works depicted beggars, the downtrodden, the old, frail, and blind. It was, the artist revealed, a reaction to a friend's death as reflected in his painting. “The world today doesn't make sense, so why should I paint pictures that do?” he said.

Bleak and haunting – yet beautiful.

If Dion Agius, the longtime Tasmanian free-surfer and stylish specimen in and out of the water, was currently in a period of his extracurricular, non-surfing creative pursuits, it would decidedly not be blue. His latest project, NOID, is a collection of vibrant and colorful home furnishings – think: chairs, tables, mirrors, etc. – all made from discarded, repurposed surfboards.

“I’ve claimed this a few times, and maybe I should stop because it’s probably not true, but I wanna say they’re the first home furnishings that have been barreled and done airs,” Dion said. “I’ve seen some rogue surf furniture over the years, so it’s definitely not the first time someone’s made furniture out of surfboards, but I’m not sure they ever did airs. Hard to say.”

We caught up with Dion to hear more about NOID, how creativity helps him stay sane and, yes, how his surfing life melds into everything else he’s got going on. Keep reading for our chat.

Hey Dion, where ya at right now?

I’m staying with Harry [Bryant] at the moment. He lives like three hours south of Sydney, down on the South Coast. It’s my go-to spot when I’m not in Tasmania. It’s a nice little chill area with really good waves…weird reefs and shit with nobody out. Short little lefts, filled with rocks, and good for airs. They don’t get very busy.

How’d the inspiration for NOID come about?

As you can imagine, being a free-surfer, and especially one who’s trying airs all the time, you break so many boards. I don’t know how many boards over your career you break. It’s not very often that they get fixed. They get thrown away a lot, and that always kind of bothered me. So much time and effort goes into making them.

Then, I broke my leg pretty bad last year. I snapped my shin trying an air. I was out of the water for, like four or five months. I was staying with Ozzy [Wright] at the time. I’m sure he had a lot to do with it, because he’s pretty inspiring. So, I couldn’t do much with a broken leg, so I took to the broken boards. That was about a year ago, and I didn’t really stop.

Compared to, say, Donald Judd, and his minimalist interior design conceptual art, the pieces in NOID are pretty…vibrant. How would you describe the style?

Totally the opposite of Donald Judd. [Laughs.] I’d say mine are more maximalist. The color palate in these is quite bright. But my personal style is more monochromatic, if not black. I think these were inspired by the old sprays I would do on my boards as a grom. I’m still figuring it all out. This one – I guess you could call it a collection – has been super experimental. I look at surfboard shapers as such highly-skilled artists, and it’s cool to strip back the glass and get to the basics with the foam.

"I don’t think anyone’s going to stop surfing anytime soon, nor will they stop breaking boards. So, when they do, I’ll be there to pick ‘em up."

NOID is Dion backwards. Old nickname, right?

It’s funny – some people pick it up straight away, and some people don’t. When I tell them, they feel ridiculous that they didn’t pick it up right away. But yeah, it was my nickname growing up in Tassie. All of my closest friends there know me as Noid. The name just seemed so fitting for these weird little creations – they’re basically little noids. They’re high-performance surf objects for the home.

How’d the sales go over at Rainbow Studios?

We pretty much sold out. I was pretty blown away. I would’ve been stoked if I sold one thing. I just made them all for fun. People were digging them, so now I’m super excited to keep making them, experimenting, and improving them. It’s an infinite material, too. I don’t think anyone’s going to stop surfing anytime soon, nor will they stop breaking boards. So, when they do, I’ll be there to pick ‘em up.

You also got CNTNR [pronounced “Container”] going on. What’s the story behind that?

I used to live in a shipping container years ago, so that was the first prototype. Then, I finished a second one. And they just live on my property down in Tassie, down there on like 40 acres in the bush. It’s like 10 minutes from where I grew up. It’s been a really fun little side project.

What’s the motivation behind these extracurricular, outside-of-surfing projects? Are they…side hustles, outlets for creativity, or a means for staying sane?

All the above. The only thing is, most of the time they’re not huge money-making projects. They’re more creative projects just done for the love of it. And yeah, sanity for sure. I need to constantly be working on something, and putting creativity energy into something, because that’s what gives me joy. That initial stage, when you first have that creative spark, that’s the most fun part. That’s why I’m always starting new projects. And when it comes down to it, I’m a firm believer in having a purpose in life. These little projects give me that. I’d go insane if I didn’t.

"I need to constantly be working on something, and putting creativity energy into something, because that’s what gives me joy."

How’s your surfing life lately?

It’s been good, lots of trips lately after the injury. I signed with Former, because a few months ago, when Globe stopped their clothing program, that was a big shakeup. I rode for them for so long. It was an insane ride. I’m still surfing for them for shoes. But it’s always kind of a weird one when you lose a sponsor you’ve had for so long. It becomes such a part of your identity.

The boys at Former are kind of my best friends. I got to witness that brand grow since the beginning. I was working with them, and shooting a bunch of stuff. Then it transitioned into riding for them. It was a really exciting new chapter. We’re going to be shooting a lot of new stuff, and working on a film project. I’m not sure how it is in the States, but in Australia they have such a strong following. Everyone really respects that it’s a rider-owned brand. I feel like they have a big future ahead of them.

Can we expect more art projects in the future?

I hope so! I’m so excited about this project at the moment, the homewares or furniture or whatever you wanna call it. There’s never been a material that’s had a bigger influence on my life than surfboard foam. There’s something really cool about using it in a different way, and giving these boards a second life. This was just a starting point.