PREVIEW
MATTHEW HUMPHREYS
WZ42_Mont5 (2012) Video, single channel (colour; stereo sound); 10:53 min.; loop Butcher Rules
Matthew Humphreys My current work constitutes a core interest in the languages of communication embedded in the social relationships and contexts of the everyday. The moving image is my main medium for the realisation of these ideas; it is within this realm, through research, artistic experimentation coupled with the skills gained from my professional practice, I develop and clarify concepts.
film and video, this has in turn allowed me to work more spontaneously without technical fear. Within my engagement and routine with the camera I have nurtured a relationship with the subject and the apparatus. For about a decade the camera has played a role within my family rituals and as of the previous two years I have had a contract with the iPhone. As I evolve, technology advances and thus I react constantly with this, shifting within the forms, building relationships with each new piece of equipment, each chapter of my life punctuated with advancement in scientific change.
My current research and practice methodology can be divided into three main strands; firstly the personal that bridges my diaristic work; the second is an exploration of the medium, which encompasses the history of the moving image and its recent technological advancements; finally a philosophical strand that investigates areas of consciousness, melancholia, memory, perception and language. It is my holistic approach to life, art and work that compels me to produce my art. I channel personally emotive subject matter, clarifying my concepts for appreciation and discussion to wider audiences. I trained at the Newport Film School where I established a confidence in the medium of
At present I have been reviewing all of the footage taken with my iPhone for the first time. All loaded up on my laptop, I am examining and reliving memories on the go; engaging in routines with the camera I start to notice patterns. I do not pick up the camera with a fixed agenda in which I intend to follow, the pattern of these moments flow from the process of me having the camera.
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supported by studies into the progression of the moving image, both historical and scientific. The recent development of the lens-based medium has enabled many people to document their life. As an artist I find this immensely engaging, I have always been drawn to amateur forms of production.
Some routines fade whereas some flourish into bodies of individual work. From fragmented signed speech in Suspended Monologue, to the 105 videos from Goodbye; I test the boundaries of documentary, always searching for poetics and realism within the content and look of my art. I examine the issues that surround presentation in Living Room, one of the installations requires a bench and flat screen which is intended to resemble a domestic form. I created a seamless loop of this film, immersing the viewer in this subtle and poignant piece. I explore themes of loss and belonging with an atmosphere of both stopped and passing time within a specific domestic context of lived daily life, which is affecting. My research into the new technologies of video, their social implications and artistic contexts, is very much practice led. I am constantly creating and reviewing material, finding vignettes and laying sound; drawing upon a personal archive of fifteen years worth of video, in order to find a poetical presentation that is removed from tradition forms of exhibition. I employ universal signifiers that enable the viewer to relate and connect with the work. This is
This pathway led me onto research into avantgarde film making histories, understanding the entire frameworks of the medium and adapting research within my practice, utilising current technologies. I use an iPhone as my main camera in my present practice as a moving image artist, the intimacy and accessibility of this device enables me to explore further unobtrusive documentary techniques. Digital technology catalogues each image with a number, time stamp and GPS data pinpointing to its place in history. Arriving at the end of contracts I absorb myself within periods of logging sketched fragments of video. Transcribing text I become connected and reflective to the material, experimenting with edits, juxtapositions and presentation of video away from the darkened cinema room.
Butcher Rules
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An interview with Ralph Klewitz
Matthew Humphreys Would you like to tell us something about your background? You hold a BA that you received from the International Film School of Wales and you are currently studying for your MFA: how do these experiences impact on your art practice? Moreover, what's your point about formal training?
fine art. Formal training is great to clarify your knowledge, but I would say It is also important to play and make mistakes, a marriage of the two has been a key in my journey.
I think formal training should be a considered route, I left school at 16 and started work trying to find out what I was interested in. I became interested in film and video where I found an medium in which I could communicate my ideas. and it was 10 years after completing my BA that I decided to focus my studies into
Living Room is literally a continuos video loop of my parents living room, with the sound of the clock ticking and soundbites that have occurred within that space. For me, it is an extension of a body of work that I created called Goodbye, where i filmed every goodbye from my parents house. both of
We have selected for publication your recent work entitled "Living Room": give us an overview of it.
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my parents became ill and in hospital and i was still filming the house when I left with no one there. I became aware of this environment, a monument traces of them left within this space. Being an artist that works closely with family politics, I amassed a great archive of material around my parents. I selected sounds that illustrated a story of loss, taking the viewer on a journey with moments spread over time, locked into one location.
i have developed and strengthened not only the personal relationships I have with my family, also with my relationship with the camera. I continually explore new ways in which to communicate my ideas with the medium. Talking about history on a personal level, both of my parents are deaf, so my language growing up was very visual. I looked rather than heard language and being the ears to my parents sounds were a fascinating landscape. You could say that video has been the perfect medium for me. You have used an iPhone to capture your intimate material, could you tell us your approach with this little and common medium when you are making art? The iPhone has really revolutionised the way I work, it is a constant notebook that is always there. I mentioned before about the relationship with the camera, it is within this I explore the limitations and also the poetics of the medium.
In your work we can recognize a deep introspection. We daresay that In "Living Room" your vision is someway suspended between your personal universe and a more general sociological intent. In your opinion, what role does the artist have in society? Could art steer or even change people's behaviour? The artists role in society is one to engage their audiences utilising the medium that they employ, often communicating
ideas that transcend words. In my work it is crucial finding the balance of the personal and allowing the wider message to be articulated. I believe that art can change peoples behaviour, it can be a powerful tool for social change. In "Living Room"that I have collected over 15 years. How has your history influenced the way you produce art? In my journey as an artist and especially working closely with such personal subject matter,
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In capturing such delicate and intimate material the iPhone is very unobtrusive, this journey has developed the artistic/documentary approach to my work. I look at the aesthetics and politics of looking through this new lens. Let’s speak about influences. Have any narrative artist from the older generation inspired you? My influences come from the world of film and art, I have a great interest in early and pre cinema, it is fascinating to see where it all started, how the early pioneers developed a visual language, i often refer back there to look for pathways away from the Hollywood narrative. I love the work of
Jonas Mekas, his exploration of New York in the form of his film diaries, they always manage to captivate me. Ian Breakwell and Dieter Roth are two other artists that I love, I am inspired when an artist exposes their ritual and process and presents it in such an engaging fashion.
What are you going to be working on next? I am still collecting and reviewing material around my videos from my iPhone, I think this process will go on for some time. I am also working on a photographic / film installation
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using found archives of family photos/cine film, I am looking forward to stepping out of my personal archive, for a moment anyway.
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