On first glance Palmers Australian landscapes, with their broken brushstrokes and high-keyed colours paintings look a lot like Impressionism. When you look a little closer the paintings are less mannered than when seen from a distance. Compositionally there is also an obvious and direct reference to both photography and digital technology in the way the images are manipulated away from reality. The figures and sensibility of the images have a feeling of being a curious and often hard to define. A mixture of memory and truth. The past and the present meet, raising questions about how the visual culture we’re surrounded by, affects our connection to the past and the nostalgic feelings that come with it.

“Nostalgia, a sentimental longing for the past, has become an omnipresent phenomenon in popular culture. For many, it is entertaining and inspiring to nostalgically engage in fond memories evoked by media”.

~A Rodrigo

Looking at memory is not a new concept. Many artists are interested in the issue of memories and their truths. Images that are a catalyst for personal reflection will be profoundly beneficial for people of all ages, to help connect to and express their thoughts, feelings and emotions. In this body of work the truth often becomes blurred by things that have been added or taken away.

Palmer says “My Sydney” is an emotionally charged relationship to the city I live in and is reflected in the fictional moments I’ve painted. The moments in these paintings have been found or seen as fleeting fragments in my travels around the city. They are also drawn from my childhood. A collection of images that outwardly express my personal vision of the place I live in. External and internal. Moments remembered fondly, exaggerated in their joyfulness and happiness.

Matt Palmer 2022