Face to Face with... Matt Pyke

On 21 April, Universal Everything’s Matt Pyke will hold his first major international exhibition, Super Computer Romantics, at La Gaîté Lyrique, the new venue for digital arts and new music. Taking possession of his own building, the event will allow him to showcase his flexible approach to creative processes with work ranging from audiovisual environments, ever-changing films and giant evolving monsters. Here he tells us about himself, his collaborators (including his audiophile brother, Simon) and what inspires his forward-thinking creations.

How would you describe what you do for a living?

I design and create physical and video artworks for screens, brands and galleries, often in collaboration with brave, exploratory people.

What’s your official title then?

Founder/creative director/designer/talent scout/curator/spokesman

Why did you choose Paris to hold your first major international exhibition?

Paris chose us, La Gaîté Lyrique is the first major venue for digital art and we grew our concept for the show with them in parallel to the building construction. Paris is the perfect city, from a commercial high-end fashion/art/culture point of view. The audience is hungry for newness.

Tell us about your dramatic and magical universe...

I work in a wooden, floor-to-ceiling windowed studio surrounded by trees, 10 minutes from the Peak District. I'm connected to my collaborators whom are dotted worldwide via Skype. Together we are motivated by the pursuit of the new; exploring never-seen-before approaches to create new sensations and surprises. We share a love for everything beyond design and art; science, maths, contemporary dance, nature, obscure music and US hip-hop.

How important is sound to add to the visuals and do you always work with your brother on it?

Sound to me multiplies the experience, filling the works with emotion and creating a space for the visuals to exist within. I work with Simon whenever he is available; he’s a busy man these days.

How did you choose the guest artists who feature and what can we expect from them?

From the initial seed ideas I created for the show, I invited super-talented artists to help grow these ideas; together with Field we are creating a 360-degree audio-visual 'communion', with Karsten Schmidt’s Voxel Posse -  a crowd of 3D printed figures grown from computer code - with Realise’s The Transfiguration - a three-metre high ever-evolving abstract walker - and with Chris Perry’s Everywhere; an infinite video installation of self organising cells. 

The exhibition sounds pretty interactive; do you think this is the way forward?

Our work is less of the traditional hands-on interactive, and biased towards participation – from peeking into a one-person infinite video installation to sharing a collective moment in the 360-degree audio-visual space.

Where does the name (Super Computer Romantics) come from?

As an artist I’ve always been driven by the pure beauty of things, discovering new forms of aesthetics and emotion. The name stems partly from the art movement 'Romanticism' - art for art's sake, and partly from a celebration of the power of today’s super-computer tools we can all work with.

You work in many disciplines, so where do you get your inspiration?

From being open to everything I experience every day, anything can lead to an idea; from a curved hair stuck to a sink, to a wall of sound at a gig.

What have you seen, read or worked on recently that would be relevant to shots readers?

Seen

Werkmeister Harmonies (DVD)

Decoding Ferran Adria (DVD)

Yves Netzhammer - Dialogical Abrasion (video installation at Liverpool Bienalle).

Read

Built by Animals by Mike Hansell,

True to Life, 25 years of conversations with David Hockney - Lawrence Weschler

The Guiness Book of Records 2011

Projects

Chanel and Esquire.

What are you most looking forward to at the event?

Seeing kids and old people's reactions.

Super Computer Romantics runs from 21 April – 27 May 2011 at La Gaîté Lyrique. It will be open daily from 2-8pm and admission is free.