MATSU
Give us a quick summary of how you found yourself where you are today?
I used to train martial arts non stop for about 10 years and one day found my body not quite holding up. It was actually quite a dark period in my life and I really struggled with depression for quite some time. I struggled for direction and avoided leaving home where possible. One day a mate of mine suggested I buy a camera and come shoot his shows at Mojo’s in Fremantle. I spent 2 years shooting Mojo’s all the time and slowly refining my photography and working through my rough patch. Mojo’s is a dark and oddly lit bar and I fell in love with light as it was such a rarity. Little patches of coloured light or single directional cans hitting the stage, throw in a little bit of smoke and a few friends on stage and I really felt at home. 3 - 4 years of photography and I'm still shooting friends on stage which is the best. My Photoshop work perhaps is the opposite to my music photography. I would shut myself away and just experiment. For me photography is limited by reality and Photoshop allowed me to express myself in a completely different way. If I wanted to see snow capped cloudy mountains I could just make it. If i couldn't find interesting I would just make it.
I used to train martial arts non stop for about 10 years and one day found my body not quite holding up. It was actually quite a dark period in my life and I really struggled with depression for quite some time. I struggled for direction and avoided leaving home where possible. One day a mate of mine suggested I buy a camera and come shoot his shows at Mojo’s in Fremantle. I spent 2 years shooting Mojo’s all the time and slowly refining my photography and working through my rough patch. Mojo’s is a dark and oddly lit bar and I fell in love with light as it was such a rarity. Little patches of coloured light or single directional cans hitting the stage, throw in a little bit of smoke and a few friends on stage and I really felt at home. 3 - 4 years of photography and I'm still shooting friends on stage which is the best. My Photoshop work perhaps is the opposite to my music photography. I would shut myself away and just experiment. For me photography is limited by reality and Photoshop allowed me to express myself in a completely different way. If I wanted to see snow capped cloudy mountains I could just make it. If i couldn't find interesting I would just make it.
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Who's artwork are you hyped on at the moment?
Gee this is a massive question. I take inspiration and get mad hyped by so many things. First and foremost would be WA peeps. There are so many people here putting out mad work. Peers like David Vincent Smith, Lauren Brunswick, Tanya Volt, Joel Crane, Jarrad Seng, Smij, Zac Gordon, Blue Forrest Media, Louise Coghill, Ryan Ahern, Taku, Merlin Eden, Mark Ash, Ben Riches, Sarah McCloskey, Ross Metcalf, Pilerats Media team and I could really go on and on. Everyday seeing their great work hypes me to stay in the arena, to match their efforts and offer something of substance and quality. Outside of Perth I look at a lot of different areas every day. At the moment I'm really into 18th Century landscape artists and in particular Albert Bierstadt. Also love cinema and really get down with Robert Richardson, Roger Deakins, Jeff Darling, Tarsem Singh, Jean-Pierre Jeunet to name a few. In terms of photography I think Eric Johansson is the best digital photographer out there, Erik Almas, Martin Stranka, Kyle Thompson, James Wiley, Emily Soto and again I could go on. |
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When shooting a commercial or editorial job, do you find it hard to separate your personal creative approach to what the client wants to see?
For the first few years this was really hard and I put a lot of it down to personal insecurities. Slowly I came to terms with the idea that not everything is in my control, that I'm not always going to do a good job, I can’t make everyone happy and ill end my being where I need to be naturally. Also my brother-in-law who spends a lot of time touring and playing live said “You have to love it enough to always step out onto that stage despite your fears”. This has really helped me focus on what I can control, trust my judgement under pressure and be open to others ideas and criticism. At the end of the day I want to end up in a good space creatively either in a team or flying solo. |
This month's Photo Bomb consists of the previous five "Crowd Favourite's" so we wanted to make it extra special by making the canvas a little different to what everybody is expecting. When did you start creating these pieces and how do you approach the concept stage?
I started Photoshopping as a way to experiment. I could lock myself away and just let fly. I get the ideas from everywhere. I could be in a conversation with a stranger, something I'm going through personally, watching a film and sitting in the shower lost in thought. I normally start with a terrible sketch of the basic outline. A few leading lines and where I want to place different elements. From there its a matter of translating what i have in mind to whats in front of me. Actually this process of translation is something I apply to everything I create. Its like speaking. Like a child putting different words together to create a sentence, then a paragraph and so on. Its a refinement of expression and this is something I'm really interested in.
I started Photoshopping as a way to experiment. I could lock myself away and just let fly. I get the ideas from everywhere. I could be in a conversation with a stranger, something I'm going through personally, watching a film and sitting in the shower lost in thought. I normally start with a terrible sketch of the basic outline. A few leading lines and where I want to place different elements. From there its a matter of translating what i have in mind to whats in front of me. Actually this process of translation is something I apply to everything I create. Its like speaking. Like a child putting different words together to create a sentence, then a paragraph and so on. Its a refinement of expression and this is something I'm really interested in.
What techniques do you use to create them? Some of them look like there might be an element of digital drawing, or are they all separate images shot in the same controlled light then placed together?
Full matte painting is somewhere I would love to end up but at the moment its a bit of a mix. I paint a lot of the lighting and shadow in myself and I spend a lot time on this but most of the elements are stills. The stills I get from everywhere. From my own shoots and travels, other photographers and sometimes from stock.
Like any artwork, there is a line that the artist reaches to call the piece finished. Do you ever have trouble finding that line and with the piece "finished" in your mind, what are you expecting to see the artists incorporate into your work on the night?
Yeah this is an interesting area especially as turn around times are getting more demanding. I feel it out a lot. When I feel like I can’t express anymore or I'm reaching instead of flowing I normally stop and come back later. I think trusting your vision is important too I'm never going to put out the perfect image but over time I can refine my vision and story telling. Photoshop composites are all about layering images over each other and I'm expecting the artists to bring their interpretations and really let it flow.
Full matte painting is somewhere I would love to end up but at the moment its a bit of a mix. I paint a lot of the lighting and shadow in myself and I spend a lot time on this but most of the elements are stills. The stills I get from everywhere. From my own shoots and travels, other photographers and sometimes from stock.
Like any artwork, there is a line that the artist reaches to call the piece finished. Do you ever have trouble finding that line and with the piece "finished" in your mind, what are you expecting to see the artists incorporate into your work on the night?
Yeah this is an interesting area especially as turn around times are getting more demanding. I feel it out a lot. When I feel like I can’t express anymore or I'm reaching instead of flowing I normally stop and come back later. I think trusting your vision is important too I'm never going to put out the perfect image but over time I can refine my vision and story telling. Photoshop composites are all about layering images over each other and I'm expecting the artists to bring their interpretations and really let it flow.
How do you feel about Perth's growing creative scene? It seems like the "Jump-Ship-ToMelbourne/Sydney" move for young creatives is now on the decline. Do we have it good here?
This is a huge question. Though frustration, not getting paid much and wanting more than I have I've defs had these ideas. I never like to make the excuse that I need to be somewhere else to create good images. It does seem like less people are migrating for greener pastures. I think a growing demand for art/ music is defiantly sweeping over Perth at the moment and social media/internet has really made those green pastures more accessible.
Also I like to think there is a real fire in the creative belly of Perth. Like the younger sibling who wants to surpass their older brothers and sisters. I take quite a bit of motivation from this and sometimes gotta resist the idea of raising the middle finger and saying “We do it better on the West Coast” :P hahaha but in truth its about linking with and collabing with people over East and over seas.
This is a huge question. Though frustration, not getting paid much and wanting more than I have I've defs had these ideas. I never like to make the excuse that I need to be somewhere else to create good images. It does seem like less people are migrating for greener pastures. I think a growing demand for art/ music is defiantly sweeping over Perth at the moment and social media/internet has really made those green pastures more accessible.
Also I like to think there is a real fire in the creative belly of Perth. Like the younger sibling who wants to surpass their older brothers and sisters. I take quite a bit of motivation from this and sometimes gotta resist the idea of raising the middle finger and saying “We do it better on the West Coast” :P hahaha but in truth its about linking with and collabing with people over East and over seas.
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What do you think social media has done for artists over the last year or two?
Social media is great. It really helps expose great art, connect people and help share important issues. But like all things there a few draw backs. By being so connected sometimes I wonder if we loose individually a little, if we follow trends a little too willingly, understandings of different ideas/ issues sometimes lack depth, clustering in tribes of shared ideas rather than exploring and the rise of narcissism seems to be a hot topic. I catch myself doing these things often. Like we out source little pieces of our life. One area in particular that interests me is in marketing and social media. I like to believe i’m not a marketable product and I'm a human being with flaws, struggles and not the perfect #tagged photography life. Sometimes I struggle to respond to messages, sometimes I need space, I can't always post eye catching images or interesting text, i don’t want to stick to a “Brand”. I really like the idea of my images being a window into my passion for Photography and my life. |
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Any advice for young artists?
Hahaha I'm a pretty young artist so I'm still trying to follow advice but one of the best pieces of I got early on was from a Photographer named James Wiley an incredible photojournalist from Canada. He said “Don't feel like you need to travel to take amazing photos. Focus on your home town, state, country and tell those stories” and I would pass that same advice onto any new photographers. You are never to young to start. Why would you ever stop creating?
Get lost in it.
Be patient.
Find your own voice.
Hahaha I'm a pretty young artist so I'm still trying to follow advice but one of the best pieces of I got early on was from a Photographer named James Wiley an incredible photojournalist from Canada. He said “Don't feel like you need to travel to take amazing photos. Focus on your home town, state, country and tell those stories” and I would pass that same advice onto any new photographers. You are never to young to start. Why would you ever stop creating?
Get lost in it.
Be patient.
Find your own voice.