Bali {based} Artist: Matthew Gillett
Matthew Gillett is a visual artist. His eyes have that sparkle of a guy who is psyched on life. From across the room he looks like he could be a tough guy, but when you meet him you find out right away he is all heart. He is the example of that saying “still waters run deep”... or is it “quiet rivers run deep?” “Deep waters run deep?”.... I can’t remember, but you know what I’m saying. The dudes got soul.
A few years back before Gillett had dedicated his life to art, he was breaking up a fight outside a venuehe was working in Australia and was hit from behind. The result was weeks recovering in a hospital from a hemorrhage in his brain; seizures, migraines, and depression for the next year of his life. Because of the seizures he wasn’t able to surf or motocross anymore or even drive his car. He watched himself deal with mood swings and depression from the brain injury. His entire life changed as he lost the ability to do the things he cared about most, and his vitality was dimmed to a hazy shade of winter.
And so it goes if you wanna make lemonade from lemons you better get squeezing. With the help of a friend, Gillett made some major life changes to help his mind and body heal. And in the end, he decided to save his own life and plunged himself into his own serotonin- producing, self- medicating therapy: Art
Name: Matthew Gillett .
Age: 36 but its hard to believe to look at!
Hometown: Stanwell Park , South Coast of Sydney Australia also known as Gods Country .
Currently living: In Bali .
Occupation: Artist .
Medium: Oil On Linen .
Endorsed/ Sponsored by: My Credit cards like most artists, (Hurley , Carve, Nathans Bequest.).
Next art exhibit: (name, date, location) MY ART KILLS MONSTERS . Date not fixed but 2012 if the world
doesn’t end, cause that would be a shame not to have the show ha ha ha
Hi Matty!
Tell everyone about your newest project "My Art Kills Monsters"
It’s an idea I came up with over a year ago. The idea is to paint pieces then use time-lapse photography to document the creation of each painting! This then gets edited into a 3 to 4 min video. Then you can see the creation of the piece in fast forward instead of watching me paint for 4 days; which is kind of boring, like watching paint dry ha ha ha. Each video will then have a song donated to it from big bands in Australia creating a short film with music to the paintings creation.
What made you decide you wanted to do this in Bali? Is it easier to be creative here?
There were a couple of reasons. I have been coming to Indonesia to surf for 20 years and love everything about it: food, people… everything. It’s a can do country in Australia, we are so heavily governed and I wouldn’t have had the creative freedom to set up wherever I wanted to, like I have here. Every spot I have painted at has been hassle free, a quick chat to whoever is in charge with the explanation and then it’s sorted. In Aus there would be so much red tape! It’s so easy to be creative here. Creativity is everywhere. It’s infectious.
How many paintings in different locations will you be producing in Bali? Which location was your favorite so far?
I will be creating 14 paintingsin 14 different Locations throughout Indonesia. I have pretty much said after each location it was my favorite and that painting is also my favorite (I am my biggest fan). But thinking back with 12 completed… Krakatau. The energy at that place is crazy. I stayed on the volcano Indo- camp style. Krakatau rumbled smoke, exploded, and spewed out soccer ball- sized rocks. So yeh Krakatau… The solitude, remoteness, and danger combined to make it my favorite spot.
What do you make of the contrast between your art and your personality? Your paintings can feel a little dark, but you’re so friendly. Which is closer to the real you?
I agree some of my art is on the darker side so maybe I paint my bad instead of acting on it, resulting in my friendly nature. Ha ha ha. I think also that people see skulls etc. and associate it with darkness. But we all have one and it’s a damn attractive suitcase for our very important brains, and it doesn’t receive enough recognition.
Don’t the Balinese have some theory about the balance between light and dark? Like their own version of yin and yang....
Yeh, I mean you can’t have the good without the bad. My Balinese friend of 20 years made good sense of it telling me that we all have half bad and half good and that the goal is to live in the middle expecting both sides.
As an artist, or just regular human, what do you think is your most unusual quality? Do you think it’s your belly button? I’m just wondering because one night I saw someone stick half of their finger into it.
That’s kind of deep. As a human, sad to say I don’t think I really have any. Others may disagree, and haven't told me ....! Until now that you have made me aware of my belly button. Ha ha ha. To my credit the poker had short stumpy fingers creating a kind of optical illusion, like smoke and mirrors.
On a scale of 1-10 how much do you love your life?
Definitely a 10, every day is a trip!
www.matthewgillett.com
- Fayzer
