Matt Haffner statement

images | bio | statement | reviews

Half Light

“Like trying to remember a dream that is fading fast, or wondering if a memory is true or invented from some nighttime hallucination, the works in Half Light are fueled by a combination of personal narratives blended with scenes from mythology, the occult, paganism, historical folklore, urban legends, and bedtime stories of witches. The works address moments too difficult to describe, where elements come together to create surreal and otherworldly experiences.

These atmospheric works describe an empty and expansive environment populated with moments of uncomfortable isolation and crystalline intensity. They depict a muted and lonely landscape disrupted by dreamlike instants of energized interactions.
In this exhibition, large installations force viewers to back away while small works draw the eye for inspection. Humble materials and simple processes are elevated through innovation, attention to detail, and meticulous craft. As visually quiet works, they create an experience that promotes inspection and contemplation while traversing layered narratives and ambiguous story telling.

Enshrouded within a penumbra, characters emerge and recede into the mist. This work explores the activity taking place in the peripheries of our sight and the edges of our understanding. Obscured vignettes suggest looking through dirty cabin windows or steamy car windshields at glimpsed scenes that unsettle, yet draw the viewer in for closer inspection.”