Thanks to their respective filter experimentation freeware and giving public access to upload straight to platform, Instagram and Snapchat making augmented reality more accessible than ever before. Every day we’re seeing more and more new filter creations, with pop culture references to almost anything as well as interactive makeup and genuine art. Reminding us of early internet viral videos and early acid house graphics, we wanted to know exactly what was behind his uncanny characters and how he got into augmented reality design in the first place.

How much does the internet influence your work?
A lot, I’ve given like 4 years of my life to the internet at this point. I make my living from people watching videos online so it all comes full circle tut my work definitely comes from and is developed from this kind of internet art style.

I love all those online subcultures in all forms, it's so global, I love it. I’m definitely just as much influenced by Sea Punk and vaporwave as all the other weird and obscure internet cultures. I’m American so I was raised on Cable TV and Slim Jims, so I do have a soft spot for low culture like WWF, Ricky Lake, and reality TV. All that stuff. I'm down with any form of escapism really.

But on the other hand my work is definitely influenced by more classic types of art. I love all the German artists like Felix Nussbaum and Otto Dix but half this stuff I view online, so where does it end?

You’ve spoken about this before, but how does your artwork combine both ancestral human anxiety for the unknown with the present obsession for digitalisation?
All of the existential wonderings are unique in their own manner but I feel like the digital is someone we all go alone so I wanted to show solitary figures in open space. We’re all in this same space yet alone in the pool of our mind. My figures have this blank cold expression looking toward the nothing with content, using architectonics of Renaissance portraits in the framing and structure. Using this webby internet art style, I try and express my journey forward towards the unknown and a past of even greater unknowns.

What are the other main influences behind your creative aesthetic?
Recently it’s euro-dance videos from the late 90’s. I was super into pop culture and this alternate type universe built on pure fantasy so I got into really overproduced pop music as a kind of rebellion towards consumerism. Currently in 2019 I have no clue what alternative culture is, which isn’t really either a bad thing or a good thing. The lines just used to be a bit clearer. Culture moves at light speed now so both the alternative influences and the mainstream mix simultaneously on the internet. And as always, I keep seeing amazing work coming from Eastern Europe.

What inspired you to make the move from photography to 3D digital art?
When I was at Pratt I had friends in the Architecture program so I’d see them using all the 3D software and was always curious. Back then I downloaded Blender and never ever used it. About 6 years later, I got my hands on a copy of Cinema 4D and was able to learn the basics through the internet. I guess I really made the move away from photography while interning at Vice back in 2011. This is where I started working in post production, learning editing and After Effects, so 3D compositing was really the final frontier for me.

How did this lead into making Instagram filters?
I saw Johanna Jaskowska’s filters and was like fuck these are cool but never really looked into how to make them. Then back in March I got sick and went deaf in my right ear… bummer right. Well given that I work with my ears this was a little bit of an issue so I was off work for about a month. I spent my time just wondering the Upper East Side and working on 3d, this is when I discovered Spark AR. This is the software used to make IG filters and effects. I saw this as the perfect space for my 3d its cool I can put my work in the hands of the viewer and people love filters.

Do you think the growing trend of augmented reality will affect the art world or is it just a trend?
Hmm, I think augmented reality just opens a whole new space when it comes to art and 3D design. It's like this happy little medium between IRL and screen living. I work in the media so I see trends come go, but AR has some legs now due to how accessible and interactive it is. Smart phones, selfies and social media are not going anywhere anytime soon so I just give the people what they want; Instagram filters.

I love how experiential AR is, I view it on three levels. The person using the filter, the person viewing my filter and meeeee seeing my art in as close to the real world as possible. I do think AR is really here to stay as a new space and medium for art.

Any tips or recommendations for somebody looking to get into 3D?
YouTube, YouTube, YouTube! It’s amazing… I learned every single thing I know from it really. School it's probably a better idea if you want to work in the mainstream 3D industry but you can really learn everything online. I'd tell anyone just to go for it, I was totally intimidated by 3D for years then just took the leap. Download whatever software you can and don't look back.

What’re you working on next?
Filters! I’m starting a digital AR agency this fall called DSKR))) so I'm excited for what's to come with that. But creatively I’m moving more towards fashion, I’ve been design football scarves and I’m putting them into production for Winter.

Put us on the waiting list - thanks Matt!