In Eschatologies, Matthew Picton exhibits new three-dimensional framed paper sculptures that interweave historical and contemporary images from paintings, photographs, books and film. Eschatology is defined as a branch of theology concerned with the final events in the history of the world, and the plural version in the exhibition title proposes an ongoing multiplicity of narratives. In this series, Picton engages with themes of mortality, impermanence, destruction and oppression in societies past and present. The artist explores the cyclical nature of calamitous ideologies throughout human civilization and illuminates hidden truths within dominant cultural histories.
Picton is known for his increasingly complex multidimensional, sculptural map cut-outs, and this series expands beyond the cartographic element. The artist continues to create rich visual narratives, and his extraordinarily dynamic sculptural creations collapse historical timelines through carefully constructed layers of paper and vellum.
