Mathew Wayne Parkin

GSS Graduate Fellow

Two green apples carved with simple facial features sit side by side on a light gray plate lined with parchment, with a floral vase and wooden surface softly lit in the background.

I was awarded the MFA Graduate Fellowship at Glasgow Sculpture Studios, supporting a studio-based sculptural practice for one year. During the fellowship, I explored the physical aspects of moving image practices—how bodies are held and supported, where sound comes from, and how audiences encounter moving image through seating and furniture. I worked with Professor of Voice Melanie Drake to consider voice as a bodily material, reflecting on my own childhood mutism and the role of regional accents. I also took stained glass courses to develop new material approaches.

Two pieces of white paper are taped to a light beige cinder block wall with cream masking tape; one reads, “Ballet dancer with a buzz cut / Shiny with sweat and a tattoo between the shoulder blades”.
Four pieces of white paper with black text are taped to a light beige brick wall; they vary in size and content, including a paragraph beginning “I search around the palacio...” attributed to Maria Fusco, a sheet titled “Sign language”, and a list with phrases like “Accessibility at core Non Verbal”.
A slightly low-angle interior view of an ajar wood-paneled door framed by white trim, with a stained glass transom in orange, green, and blue; soft light filters through a white curtain in the hallway beyond, casting gentle shadows in the muted gray space.