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Alright mate Let’s get out there for a couple of cheeky
ones eh? For my younger years surfing was always extremely
competitive And, um, sometimes I think I had the wrong
outlook on it. I think I was too caught up in always wanting
to be the best at it. And get the most waves and…
After going through everything I’ve kind of gone through
For me now it’s just about being out there. You know, it’s like the smell of it and
the sound of it and just everything you know. It’s just so cleansing. It’s a really
nice way from me to just level out. So I’m Matthew Gillett and I’m a visual
artist and we are at the Scarborough Hotel which is the new home of the Matthew Gillett
Gallery. I’ve always, I’ve always done my art but
it kind of came to a head while I was working at the Annandale Hotel.
So I got to a point where I had a little bit of an incident at the hotel which left me
with a head injury and quite bad depression and anxiety.
So all of those things were kind of stepping stones to pushing me into my art, I found
solace through my art and through my surfing. You know the surfing is what stops me, you
know, it keeps me calmer. And then the painting is about getting the
ideas out that are in my head or the emotions that are in my head.
It’s a way of just getting all my angst out.
And spewing it out onto the medium I’m you know working on
Whether it’s canvas or timber at the moment it’s just it is really like…it’s just
really freeing. I never went to art school so … I know what
I like, I don’t know a lot of the history of it but I know what I like.
And so for me if I’m asked to describe it to someone now, I kind of describe it as uninstitutionalised
art. So it’s art that I haven’t been told how
to draw a circle I just draw circles the way I draw circles.
I like that. I think it fits to what I do. You know, for me there’s no wrong way to
do it. I’m extremely fortunate to be able to combine
my passion, my love, and my career all in the one.
You know, it’s not about the money, you know. It’s definitely not about the money
cause I don’t have any but [laughs]. That side of it doesn’t really bother me,
it’s not about that. It’s the simple things. It’s like being
downstairs and seeing, you know, a portrait I did of my dad
And some kid who’s like 5 years old down there and asking his Mum if it’s painted
out of ice cream. You know, that’s, there the little moments,
these little snippets that keep me just pumped on it.
To evoke emotion in other people whether it be negative, positive, hate, love whatever.
As an artist, to evoke emotion with your work through other people – that’s the ultimate
goal