About
"As above, so below, as within, so without, as the universe, so the soul..."
- Hermes Trismegistus
My name is Matthieu Chai Friedman.

My art is an instrument through which I express my emotions and address my struggles with gender, mental health, and life as a whole.
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I carefully select my materials, colours, and textures based on symbolism. I like to juxtapose symbols, often giving my pieces multiple meanings to make the viewer think about my work and what it represents. I like to keep common motifs to connect my works such as eyes, the idea of being watched or known, general uncanniness, and mental illness.
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My current work centres around mental illness and the idea of being seen. I use eyes to represent the idea that art is not one-directional - while a viewer may look at a piece of art, the work is also looking back at you. To quote Tim Kreider, “if we want the rewards of being loved we have to submit to the mortifying ordeal of being known.” This voyueristic approach to art is something I will expand on in the future.