Matt Smith is a ceramicist and textile artist best known for his parianware forms. Much of Smith’s work explores the representation of marginalised histories, giving a voice to those hidden and silenced. Smith often creates works in response to museum collections. He reveals and critiques the view of history created by those with authority and invites reflection on alternative interpretations such as those of people of colour, LGBTQ+, those less able and women.
The exhibition Matt Smith: Who Owns History? contains some of Smith’s unpicked and restitched textiles and several of his uncanny ceramic forms. Many of the latter have his recurring motif of coneheads or eggheads which cause viewers to consider who has a voice and who does not. Surreal assemblages of teapot spouts and jelly moulds unsettle and challenge viewers’ perceptions of the norm.
Matt Smith said: “I’m delighted these works have been acquired by Brighton & Hove Museums through funding from the Contemporary Art Society. As a former resident of Hove, I have a long-standing relationship with Hove Museum and these pieces join other works already in the collection.
“History is contested and fought over. It often privileges rich, white, heterosexual men at the expense of everyone else. This exhibition questions why other narratives get less attention and builds on the work Brighton & Hove Museums have been pioneering in this area for a number of years.
“Museums should be for everyone and reflect all of us. I hope this show helps to achieve that.”
The body of work in this exhibition was acquired by Brighton & Hove Museums in 2020 through the CAS Rapid Response Fund. It includes pieces from the Flux exhibition of 2018 and the Wunderkammer series 2017.
Hove Museum of Creativity
Step into a world of toys, cinema, local history, and fine art. Hove Museum of Creativity, part of Brighton & Hove Museums, is a family friendly museum with one of the finest craft collections in the UK.
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