‘The leaves of the dead’- a family mystery.
Matt says, ‘I never knew Uncle Bob, but I am the spitting image of him. He died in tragic circumstances when I was six months old. During my investigation, I found the events surrounding his death were not as clear cut as they first appeared.’
This photographic exhibition is part investigation into a family mystery and in part an exploration into Bob’s life. Separated by time but joined in physical and social likeness Matt has used himself as a surrogate for Bob. When we die, all that remains are the stories, old photographs and trinkets: the leaves of the dead.
Death is a hard part of life, difficult to accept and come to terms with. Photography and phototherapy enable us to connect with issues and distance ourselves from them at the same time. The act of taking a photograph imprints part of yourself into the image. Raising the camera between you and your subject brings both connection and separation simultaneously. In this way, photography can help us face issues we’d rather avoid.
Artist: Matt Arnold.
During the COVID 19 pandemic, rather than sit and watch Netflix, Matt decided to further his photographic skills and study for an MA in photography; which he has now successfully achieved. His personal photographic work centres around themes connected with phototherapy, nostalgia and exploring the spaces we inhabit. Photographing both physical and personal liminal spaces in an often elegiac manner, his photographs ask us to have the sensitivity to look again and go beyond the surface.
Exhibitor Information
