In Consideration of Our Times

In Consideration of Our Times features a new moving image work and a selection of colour and black & white self-portraits and landscapes, which Williams describes as being, “in a state of constant loss”. The methodical, slower-paced process of analogue photography, using a darkroom to bring pictures to life from photographic negatives, is something that Williams values. All the work on display has been produced in the publicly accessible photography darkrooms at Stills and at Street Level Photoworks, Glasgow.

Williams is a Glasgow-based artist who has become known for a visual arts practice that explores themes of race, queerness, memory and history. A key concern that he addresses in his work is the absence of representation and how this can be perpetuated by formal histories and archives. For Williams, memory is something that has to be worked on constantly for hidden histories to be revealed, retold, celebrated and preserved.

At the top of the list for me when producing work that carries multiple themes or subject matters, my obsession with the power of image making and how we read an image comes first. My work is saying something very loudly to me, and I like to leave it up to the viewer if those things resonate for them. This show at Stills is no different and continues to take a moment to stop or move at a slower pace.’ – Matthew Arthur Williams