Art Reviews
Interview with Matt Mackman
05/01/16
At the age of 15, Matt Mackman was hit by the potentially fatal disease Meningitis – a lasting memory is that of his last rites being read to him (on two separate occasions). This set the tone for his ongoing work that reflects the ageing process and mortality, but also affected him in another way: whilst in a comatose state he suffered a series of repetitive dreams, which he feels was his visual life flashing before his eyes. Matt has used billboard posters, found imagery, stencilling, paint, papers, varnishes and powders are amongst the materials and techniques to create a collection of 20 paintings in the last three years. One painting uses marble dust from a grave stone engraver to reflect a sense of mortality. Beauty and decay. Life and death. Light and dark. Dreams and nightmares. These are the things that keep Matt awake (and painting) at night. We spoke to Matt about his experiences as an artist and his paintings which meld Street Art and Fine Art.
You have said before that your work is a meld of street art and fine art. What specific influences do you think you have learnt from each practice and how do you reflect both of them in your work?
I love the fast output that the spray can allows and the qualities of stencilling but I am always compelled to take a more traditional approach by applying paint with a brush which gives me a greater connection to my art which I tend to do this with a great deal of energy. The output might reference art history but the end result is definitely contemporary. The materials used in your pieces are key to the message you are expressing; in one piece, marble dust was used to reflect the theme of mortality. What other kinds of materials have you used to achieve this same effect?I try and replicate the aging process by attacking the image and distressing it and taking a slick image and weathering it. I also build up layer upon layer over time like bark forming on an old oak tree, replicating the texture and cracked surface. I also use symbolism within my work and religious texts referencing death. I try not to make them overly obvious but they're in there to be found if the viewer looks hard enough.In your pieces you have toyed with the ideas of mortality and impermanence, using the topic of modern day advertising to explore these concepts. What is it about how the contemporary world advertises that interests you so much?Advertising is designed to be eye catching and even when distorted can have a welcoming familiarity and is a useful tool particularly as I am not a graphic designer. The slick finish of advertising campaigns contrasts well with my more painterly approach. With this body of work, I use 24 hour advertising and the deluge of imagery we are often confronted with as a mirror to the 24 hours I spent in a comatose state when I saw my visual life flash before my eyes.What are some examples of advertising campaigns that you have used in your work, and how have you portrayed them in your pieces to communicate a specific message?In some respects the advertising campaigns are irrelevant other than needing to be visually interesting or exciting. This body of work is not about political posturing but about my own personal experience of surviving meningitis and therefore the advertising campaigns serve to make the viewer feel at times comforted by the familiarity and then uncomfortable with the distortion in other pieces.Much of your work is designed to have several layers of subtext and layered meaning; do you find it a challenge to communicate so much visually? What tools do you use to get these messages across to your audience? It is a challenge communicating multiple messages but I want my work to be both challenging for me and the viewer and not to 'spoon feed' my message or indeed ram it down their throats. My approach is to provide the viewer with a set of visual clues or jigsaw pieces to put together to formulate a meaning. At the same time I deliberately leave space for the viewer to add their own interpretation. Being inspired by the concept of mortality and permanence and based on your life experiences, what do you feel are things in this world that inspire you to live life? What role do you feel art plays in the exploration and definition of these ideas?
The things that give me life are family, friends, placing myself in a productive, positive environment, looking at art, questioning art…producing art. Challenging myself and being challenged by others. From a human perspective the one thing we can be certain of is that we are born, we live and then we die. There is no saying how long each of these episodes will last. Art is a fantastic tool to explore any number of ideas, including the concept of mortality and in general art with outlive individuals.
Do you have a specific place or time in which you find it best or most inspiring to work, and why?Like a martini man...anytime, anyplace, anywhere. Without wanting to state the obvious, my studio is the best place for me to be but it’s about my mindset. I would produce art wherever I was and with whatever materials I had in front of me.
What is it that inspired you most to become an artist, and what do you feel art can contribute to life, society and our understanding of the world around us? I have been fortunate that from a young age I have had some influential art teachers who have inspired me and gave me the freedom to experiment with and enjoy art processes. I don't think I chose to be an artist, I was born to be an artist. It runs through my core. My art reflects the society in which it is produced and for me is a tool to question the world in which I live and attempt to make sense of it. If I help someone else understand their world too then I’ve achieved more than I set out to accomplish.
Matt Mackman will be talking about his work at SPIEL at Norwich Arts Centre on Thursday 7th January from 8pm. Pay what you can. Nice one.