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'Maggi Hambling helped me reveal my true identity'

Alice CunninghamSuffolk
Rachael Bassett A woman with long blonde hair and a fringe wearing a dark grey T-shirt stands next to an older woman who has short, curly grey hair and is wearing a brown jacket. They are both smiling at the camera.Rachael Bassett
Rachael Bassett (left) said fellow Suffolk-born artist Maggi Hambling (right) helped her reveal her true identity

An artist who painted on skateboards under a fake name said renowned sculptor Maggi Hambling helped her reveal her true identity.

Rachael Bassett, 37, from Clare in Suffolk, started her art career under the pseudonym, Bassé, during the Covid-19 pandemic.

She developed a love of using skateboards as her canvas, which also garnered the attention of her "hero" Hambling, who came to visit her at home.

"She went through my artwork which was my dream and she gave me a few pieces of advice which was maybe it was time to take the mask off, and what Maggi says, happens," Bassett explained to BBC Radio Suffolk's Sarah Lilley.

"I did that and then she gave me advice on some works and when Maggi says, 'This is really good', that's not something you forget either.

"So I developed that series and that is what has turned into this skate brand from my style developing based on what she told me."

Rachael Bassett A woman wearing a Venetian mask at an art exhibition. The mask is black and gold and has a long nose section that looks like a beak. She wears a red T-shirt and lanyard. Pieces of art are on display behind her.Rachael Bassett
Bassett used to protect her identity behind a Venetian mask

Bassett said she had always enjoyed creating art, but during the pandemic used it as an outlet for her ADHD.

She initially did not want her face "all over social media", so created her fake identity and would even wear Venetian masks at exhibitions.

She first met Hambling at an exhibition in Sudbury where they chatted.

They then bumped into each other over three consecutive days before Hambling offered to come and look at her work and encouraged her to pursue her skateboard art.

Craig Spencer Photos A woman with red hair stands in a stall where she is selling items. She holds two skateboards which have been painted on.Craig Spencer Photos
Bassett had her first exhibition last year and has also appeared as a stallholder at a recent skate jam event

Bassett had skateboarded as a teenager and started to get back into it as an adult, but she realised the boards could be a perfect canvas for her art.

"I never planned to create this skate brand but I started this series called Souls for Salaries which was a bit of an expression on the idea of when people work out of necessity and not out of passion," she said.

"The series developed to where I focused on the actual souls trapped within that world and I looked for a different canvas because of that.

"I wanted a canvas that symbolises freedom and movement because it fit the story and so I find skateboards."

Rachael Bassett A collection of skateboards which have been painted on with different artworks rest against a table. Rachael Bassett
Bassett said the quality of the decks were really important to the skateboard community

She launched EKH-O and debuted her work last year before putting it on TikTok and gaining attention from the skateboard community.

"I took a chance and the furthest to date I've sold is Australia, which is mad," she added.

The boards all have a piece of original artwork and then they are professionally made by a skateboard manufacturer here in the UK using 100% Canadian maple wood.

Bassett said the boards were "no longer just for hanging on the wall, these are made to be skated" and that the skateboarding community had been incredibly supportive of her.

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