return: video, audio and sculptural installation, Toni Matlock

detail return: video, audio and sculptural installation, Toni Matlock

return

projector, DVD player, speakers, sawhorse and door table, Unc's glasses

“Make haste slowly” is a mostly quiet and contemplative body of work that collages bits of memories into a sculptural, non-linear narrative.  Family memorabilia are combined with audio and video into fragmented portraits.

Static objects are active with audio and video; a guitar speaks, crusty old work boots sing, and a tiny video projects onto a lens of a pair of thick-framed glasses. The main character in one room’s installation is the artist’s great uncle, William “Unc” Henry Deloreto.  By way of audio recordings, family members share memories of Unc, the first American-born child of Italian immigrants. Unc portrays an unconventional individual who pursued his own version of freedom and the American dream.  As a barber, non-denominational preacher, and house-painting handyman, Unc’s lessons are translated not by his sermons but rather through his embodiment of trust, creative spirit and a qualitative understanding of time.