January 26 - February 27
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Matt Simmons is a writer and artist living and creating on the unceded territory of the Wet’suwet’en nation in Smithers, BC. He has been a writer by trade for over a decade and is regularly involved with various artistic endeavours in music, publishing, photography, graphic design and installation.
He is influenced by modern and contemporary art, design, architecture and graffiti. He has always been influenced by street art or any form of free, public art. With his background as a wordsmith, he is naturally drawn to art that incorporates words or text into the body of the work (Magritte’s pipe, Banksy’s political messages, etc.) and his own visual art has always done this.
His last exhibition – you are here – was at SAG in February, 2016. The show featured a combination of installations, two dimensional pieces in mixed media, sculptures, and an unofficial “street art” or “art drop” component. With pieces that visitors could touch, smell, walk on and otherwise engage with in a tangible way, the goal of you are here was to immerse attendees in the experience of being present.
Matt grew up on Vancouver Island and relocated to the northwest in 2007. He moved to Smithers in 2011 where he currently works as a journalist for The Narwhal.
SHOW DESCRIPTION
Evolve is about change, but it means more than that. The word comes from its Latin root, Ä“volvere, which means “to unroll.” We are always changing as individuals, and the world around us — natural, cultural, political, urban — is also in a constant state of change. Sometimes we make change, and sometimes change happens to us.
The events of the past year changed everything, for everyone. They also changed this exhibition. The original intent was to create a participatory contemporary art experience but for safety reasons that is no longer possible. Instead, see this as an exploration of the ideas of intent, adaptation and an ultimate surrender to the inevitability of change.
