Interview

Jan 5

Matthew da Silva

Matthew came to art following 35 years working in offices, mainly doing editorial work including desktop publishing but also including a stint freelancing as a journalist. He wanted to do art when he was a teenager but had a choice at school between studying French or art because of the timetable. His dad didn’t let him drop French so he went to university and got a degree, started working, made a family and relocated to Japan for his career. Once back home, he completed a second degree in journalism. In 2022, he started making paramontages and established the Eastern Suburbs Art Group. “Paramontage” is a portmanteau word coined by an old school friend Andrew Adair, a poet. He is interested in how reality’s constructed through stories under power of commercial prerogatives. He started making watercolours in November 2022 and his first solo show ‘Media of mass psychology’ featured 13 works. Now that he is doing what he always wanted to do, it seems to him that the majority of his life was spent in a kind of prison.

mdasilva solo show PLEASE DO USE THIS PHOTO 2.jpg

What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?

“I wanted to be an artist in my teens but the school put art and French on at the same time on the same day, so I had to choose. I got home and phoned my father at the office and asked him if I could drop French and he said "no." He was very emphatic. I did the matriculation, went to university, got a degree in languages, got a job, had a family and ended up in hospital for 6 weeks aged less than 40. From there it was a matter of recovery. Once I retired, I decided to go back to what I always wanted to do. My father was a malignant gaslighting narrcissist who tried to destroy me but he wasn't successful. I am still here.”

mdasilva solo show PLEASE DO USE THIS PHOTO 1.jpg

What does your work aim to say? Does it comment on any current social or political issues?

“I did my second degree in media studies so I have an intrinsic interest in the public sphere. I also write poetry and keep a blog, Happy Antipodean. My work is interested in the ways that people use stories to achieve common aims. Language is innate to the species so the use of stories is part of being human.”

Do you plan your work in advance, or is it improvisation?

“I find time to paint and turn on the TV which plays in the background. I prefer crime dramas but the news works just as well. I sometimes have ideas while lounging around the house and then commit to several hours of painting. Sometimes, I start painting and stop, then go out on a different tangent with a completely different subject. Painting is so much fun that it is a treat to myself to do it. Mostly, I carry out an idea that comes to me while I am going about my daily business, meeting with people, shopping, or running errands like getting the car cleaned or buying a newspaper.”

Are there any art world trends you are following?

“When I was at school one year I got a prize and we were handed bookshop vouchers. I chose a book on Pop art and have always been interested in this stream of culture. I find it fresh and exciting because it feels very contemporary but like a TV show it can have deep undercurrents as well. I love all art however and as I tell my friends I find it hard to choose between different options. I'm not very good at editing my own art for this reason, I like complexity and the more difficult a problem is, the more I seem to be drawn to it. So, it's hard to say if I don't like any particular type of painting. Art is everything.”

What process, materials and techniques do you use to create your artwork?

“At the moment, I do two types of work. One is "paramontage" which is a term coined by a friend from school named Andrew Adair. It refers to synthetic combinations of poetry and photography. I also paint with watercolours and use collage on top, sometimes adding marks with Posca pens.”

“I like complexity and the more difficult a problem is, the more I seem to be drawn to it. So, it's hard to say if I don't like any particular type of painting. Art is everything.”

What does your art mean to you?

“Writing and art are ways to decipher the world. We live in a complex and mercurial environment where things don't always mean what we think they mean, and art and writing are ways that I use to try to find out more about these problems. I work out using these tools what I want and what I think.”

What’s your favorite artwork and why?

“I like Cy Twombly's 'Three Studies of the Temeraire' which is in Sydney where I live, in the Art Gallery of New South Wales. The drawing is merciless and wonderful. I am always envious of it.”