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Matthew Blount
Matthew Blount had an accident in November 2000. He was knocked over by a motorbike when crossing the road which caused a severe traumatic head injury; resulting in brain surgery that night. Subsequent recovery has been good but it's been hard work. Through personal experience he discovered that the majority of people don't understand head injury. Due to lack of experience and knowledge this often comes across as insensitivity or lack of consideration. He doesn't have any physical or mental disabilities which are obvious as brain injury is often invisible.
'There is no plaster, there are no broken bones, there is often no visible scar'.
Head injury is trauma: physical, mental and emotional trauma. Recovery is extremely hard. 80% of people who have brain surgery die on the operating table. Of the 20% who survive; 90% of those have a physical and/or a mental disability.
Head injury affects Matthew in subtle but profound ways. His tolerance levels have decreased and anger has increased. He's unable to be near loud, sudden noises; they shock and frighten him. He can't interact or handle group situations i.e. supermarkets, social situations and confrontational experiences. Any form of stress or argument causes him to shut down. He can't assert himself and often finds that he is at a disadvantage. When he asks for help he feel as if he has hit a brick wall; requests are turned down and he is told to go away. He can't read a situation and misinterprets the clues that we often subliminally rely on to interact with each other; he misses the joke. He has memory problems too; often forgetting the simple things; the context of conversations, names of people he meets, telephone numbers, events.
Matthew has created a sculpture addressing the issues of head injury from a personal perspective. He believes strongly in the re-use of materials and recycles 80% of his domestic waste. Creating this piece of work has encompassed both ideas.
'The Broken Head, The Broken Heart'
'I've been mourning the loss of Matthew the person I was before the accident. The head is to show the accident, the broken heart is to show the grief.'
The Head
The head is cast from a mould created from my own head. I've used broken recycled plain tiles for the main body of the head with recycled broken patterned tiles to highlight the site of the head injury; the point of impact. I used broken tiles to represent the shattered outward representation of my accident. The head is mounted on a reclaimed steel rod. The rod is curved to represent the right side of the human body. The steel rod was sourced from a reclamation yard and holds the head at a height of 173cms (my height).
The Heart
The heart represents the human heart. There is an intentional crack/split across the middle to represent my broken heart. I've used recycled patterned tiles for the whole body of the heart which is mounted on another reclaimed steel rod. This rod is also curved to represent the left side of the human body. The rod holds the heart at a height of 136cms; the height of my heart from the ground.
Working drawing and artist at work
Matthew Blount
187 Carnwath Rd
London SW6 3EJ
07798 822 784
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