MAT BROWN
28 years old Canadian artist Mat Brown is excited by the prospect –although small– that he may live to see the fallof the American Empire, and finds inspiration in the apocalypse and the rise of sea levels.
Why are you an artist Mat? I’ve always wanted to be a scientist, since early childhood i needed a way to record my investigations of the world. That developed into the ability to draw without reference of any kind, this freed me to make two dimensional my views of the world around me.
I love the way you show the animal side of humanity. When you paint, what are the intentions of your approach? It’s interesting you say animal side, i believe firmly that most of the constructs of modernism are illusion, that humanity never exercised dominance over the natural world, that humanity is just beginning to realize how connected we still are (climate change will prove the dominance of nature over man). The work i have been making for the past three years is all rooted in this idea, man as animal. The series “Endocrine slavery” was a visual description of the controls of the glandular system, the primitive brain stem being charmed like a snake with the song of hormonal chemicals. This is my approach to science/art, i have no or little faith in either institution, they have been separated and splintered over time, i believe in the honest power of un-selfconcious observation, the confidence to draw conclusions or pose questions about the world, without a specific speciality or discipline. I feel that the best forms of communication are not immediately obvious, that understanding is something separate from language.
