Holey Rock (2020-21) — Social Art Library

By

Matthew Dowell

A project on place, used to unlock and share memories.

This project began at the time of the general election that had a simplified narrative of Brexit and ‘the north’. This was a simplistic narrative that I felt didn’t properly represent this place.

The idea of the local has been used in divisive language adopted by right wing rhetoric and the work aims to flip that to make it a positive unifying symbol. The popular use of postcards and the imagery presented on them seemed to have a parallel timeline to Sunderland, its seaside attractions and shipbuilding industry.

The postcards were uploaded to Facebook and local history pages to act as the starting point for exchange for people to share their memories. When we publicly share a memory of a place we are acknowledging our relationship to it and is a form of ownership.

The aim of the project was to share these memories as a celebration of home, community, and local identity in a positive way, highlighting shared connections and unifying moments.

To read the Holey Rock publication, scroll the PDF below:

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Matthew Dowell

Matthew Dowell (b.1994, Sunderland, UK) has a research based practice working across the expanded fields of print, performance, and sculpture. Responding to specific sites he adopts anthropological models of working through exploring social histories and recording signifiers of place: street and welcome signs, mapping, and walking tours. He studied Fine Art at Kingston School of Art (2013-16) and Print at the Royal College of Art (2018-2020). He was shortlisted for the Gillian Dickinson North East Young Sculpture (2019) and is the recipient of the Stanley Picker Print Tutorship (2021). Recent exhibitions include Artworks Open at the Barbican Arts Group Trust (2020).

matthewdowell.com