JULY 2023
NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE
CALLE SOL
Nigel Gavus, the independant Austrian filmmaker, came to stay in Santa Maria La Ribera with his old friend, Matthew Phipps. During his month long stay last fall, he dusted off Matthew’s old super 8mm film camera and followed him around the streets of Santa Maria and the center of Mexico City as Matthew took his street pictures and interacted with his friends around the city. Constanzo Romero, the painter and musician from the neighborhood, scored the film on top of his roof with two impromptu guitar compositions. Calle Sol was premiered at the book presentation at Centro De La Imagen in CDMX for Matthew’s book “EVERY DAY IS BABYLON”.
WELCOME TO THIS NEW SPACE!
I am starting this new outlet of unseen work from my home near the centro de la Ciudad de México. This archive is a way to share work online while long term projects are shaped into books. I have 150,000+ photos and I need to start releasing some of this creative pressure I have been feeling. I will be digging in the archive as I continue to scan rolls from more than ten years of travels. I will let you know about new events or expos that I am preparing around the world. And more importantly I will be writing about these images as an exercise to deepen my relationship to my own work. The monthly archive will live on the site to be accessed at a later time.
I want to get away from the algorithms and be able to put out quality content to the people who want to see and appreciate my work. I am glad you are here.
This month I am releasing the short film that Nigel Gavus made about me shooting around my neighborhood and the center of Ciudad de México. Entitled CALLE SOL, this six and a half minute piece was shot on super 8mm film and scored by my neighbor and fellow artist, Constanzo Romero Franco.
I have been going through my rolls from 2011 and 2012 and came across some great pictures of my time in Vienna, Austria, when my site skatersatlas.com was just an idea in my brain. I was out shooting skateboarding every day, but always with a 35mm camera around my neck as well.
I will be checking back in monthly, with new work and a different theme.. So stay tuned and thank you for being along for the ride. ANDALEEEEEEE
NOW SHIPPING: EVERY DAY IS BABYLON
120 photographs taken over 12 years in 16 countries on 5 continents.
Every Day Is Babylon takes the reader on an international adventure crossing borders and cultural divides. This second edition has a slight re design from the first edition that sold out earlier this year after it was successfully launched at NYC-SPC’s Contact Gallery in Brooklyn.
ARCHIVE RUMMAGING: VIENEESE SUMER AND FALL 2011
Vienna, Austria in August of 2011, was my first trip outside the USA. I had already been shooting 35mm photographs for a couple years, but this was my first time living in a city that had movement and life on the street. This was huge and highly influenced me, solidifying a desire to photograph humanity and to live in a place where I could get around by foot. Vienna quickly became a second home with the friends I made and the city’s breathtaking beauty, as I walked through the streets every day.
The photos taken by the water are moments before and after the shot that made it into my book “Every Day Is Babylon”. Looking back at these photographs, I remember so many details about the day each photo was taken… events leading up to the frame, friends that were there. The smells of Vienna still permeate my nostrils just looking at these photos.
Click on any photo to be taken to the Newsletter archive where each photo can be viewed in greater detail. There are roughly 35 photographs in all. See you soon Vienna.
These are all screenshots from unedited film scans. I am still going through my rolls from Vienna 2011. This process is seemingly never ending. I have spent four to five years going through the first ten years of rolls and I’m still trying to catch up. This newsletter is in part to be able to share my archive digging with the people who want to see it most: you all. In the next months, different periods of my travels and other archive digs will be unearthed and distributed.
If you enjoy the content you see here, please consider donating to the creation of new artworks or just to buy me a cup of coffee. Your contribution is greatly appreciated.
Thanks for tuning in. Check back next month for the next installment. Make sure you’re subscribed to the newsletter to get this content delivered straight to your inbox. See you in the streets. - Matthew