Matt WILSON*

Cette route mène sûrement quelque part, peut-être is Matt Wilson’s latest project, created this past summer during his residency in Normandy for the 2023 edition of the Planches Contacts festival in Deauville.

Traveling throughout Normandy, with no specific destination in mind and based entirely on instinctual decisions, Wilson’s journey of discovery meanders throughout the region’s five departments.
From the dramatic coastline of the Seine Maritime to the Cotentin Peninsula, to the deepest rural landscapes of Calvados, Eure and Orne, this is a study of how different routes resonate within the artist, inspiring works that explore visual weight as a lyrical concept.

A veritable ode true to the impressionist principle of recording the effects of light and atmosphere, each road, place, and unlikely location seem laden with personal history, succeeding one another through the shadows and reflections of the present offering a singular vision of his gaze.

With a dreamlike quality his bold compositions, surprising plays of light, and specific use of color evoke the impressionist painters and transports us to a world where photography becomes an open window into the poetry and splendor of Normandy, revealing the very essence of this region.

Working within the analog medium, Wilson explores the possibilities of antiquated film emulsion which steers the works away from the traditional photograph resulting in an exploration of the relationship between photography and painting.
Matt Wilson captures in a pictorial manner a poetic and timeless universe, translating the world unfolding before him into unique images that invite the viewer on a journey through the time and space of landscapes.