Art, Design and Media by Matthew K. Grundy
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Twin Peaks Poster
February 18th 2025
Bit of personal work - since the death of David Lynch, I've been revisiting his work and the influence it's had on me creatively.
I first experienced the wonder of David Lynch when Twin Peaks happened, when I was in my late teens... which led me to his films... which led me to a whole world of cinema that has enhanced my life. And I guess I went into it with eyes open as to what it could be, because of the paradigm he had set - that art can be more than the sum of its parts, that sometimes feel can overtake narrative, and that creativity can so often being about chasing down how to express something you can't quite articulate, because if you could it would seem to disappear.
While the second season of Twin Peaks is not without it's flaws, I think the final episode, for which Lynch returned, remains one of the most iconic episodes of TV ever made (probably only topped by the double-episode finale of season 3). And the moment from that episode when Bob takes Windom Earle's soul, is the high-point. Frank silva movement and body position is so idiosyncratic that the scene has been scorched into my brain ever since... so I sat down to draw it. Came out OK, I think - I might do some prints of this, so if anyone is interested, hit me up. There's a Laura Palmer version as well as a Cooper one, cos I couldn't decide between the two.
Napalm Death T-Shirt
September 24th 2024
Very happy to be posting this - I recently provided t-shirt artwork for the mighty Napalm Death, a band I consider a nation treasure and have had a substantial influence me since discovering them via a borrowed cassette whilst at college in the early 90s.
There was an open brief to pick the lyrics froma song and represent how they clicked with you. I chose 'Errors In The Signals' from the 2012 album 'Utilitarian' (which is totally under-rated - go check it out), the lyrics of which, to me, speak of the pressure to fit into perceived norms, be they social expectations of a particularly conservative variety, gender roles or gender identity norms and to live an imposed vision of a supposed ‘normal’ existence. It feels like the tension between people trying to live a life and have an identity that they feel is authentic to them, and those who feel people should fit into an arguably imaginary, traditional, cookie-cutter existence is stronger than ever. Particularly as politicians stir culture wars to score cheap ‘them and us’ points, and social media often projects idealised lifestyles and identities.
For the artwork, I wanted to play with the ‘trad-wife’ imagery that the online right seem to have a current obsession with, as this really seemed to fit with my read of the song… hence the somewhat warped version of a 50’s style housewife. Hopefully the rest of the image is fairly self-explanatory.
Big thanks to Shane and Barney from Napalm Death for being so nice to deal with on this job!