Matthew Dercole
Matthew Dercole
I develop story lines stemming from the exploration of our relationships with ideas and imagery that are often overlooked, taken for granted, sometimes disturbing, and usually misunderstood. Within these stories, I approach and investigate the dull, banal, and the obvious aspects of everyday life with a new curiosity.
Series of works are based around separate moments, all relating to each other through symbols, characters, themes, and imagery. Thinking of stories and books and how they elicit imagery, I approach my work from the point of view of a story, working through series and ideas as thoughts and surroundings evolve.
The exploration of the self, the understanding of others, and the dynamics they create are an underlying theme throughout my work. Drawing from a fascination of biology, I create forms based on principles of nature coupled with the experience of thought and feeling. The works become combinations of the natural progression of life, such as growth and decomposition, and the human aspects of reason and ability. I am reacting to the way people think and feel about their identities, how the act of learning and the responsibility of knowledge affect our everyday lives.