Artist and Skater- Matthew Lauricella a.k.a 'Pigeonboy'
1. Firstly, “Pigeonboy”- where does that name come from?
When I was about 19 I lived in an apartment in Western Sydney. It was a three storey apartment building and I lived on the top floor. The stairwell leading up to the top floor had a broken window in it and a pigeon had flown through the broken window and made a nest on my front doorstep. Everyday I would come home and as I was walking up the stairs the pigeon would get startled and try to fly out the broken window dive bombing my head in the process. I soon realised after moving in that the pigeon wasn't living with me but I was living with the pigeon. One night I went out with my friend in the city and we came home very late and very drunk. I went straight to bed but my friend decided to catch the pigeon in a washing basket and release it in my room while I was sleeping. I woke up to the pigeon flying wildly around my room while my mate was laughing at me and calling me "The Pigeonboy who lives with the pigeon." We managed to get the pigeon out of the apartment unharmed but ever since that moment the name pigeonboy stuck.
2. Why do you make art? What does it do for your mental health?
I've always drawn ever since I was a little kid. It's just something I've never really stopped doing and I still love it to this day. As I got older I also got into painting with gouache and acrylic. I work as a graphic designer so I have spent a lot of time illustrating digitally too. I make art because it's a fun, creative outlet for me. It takes me out of my everyday problems and for that brief moment nothing really matters except for what I'm putting down on paper.
3. What are some messages that you want to express through your art?
I'm usually just trying to make people laugh with my art. Since I'm a skateboarder a lot of my art revolves around skateboarding and what it's like to be an aging skateboarder still playing with a toy that was made for children. Sometimes my art is silly, sometimes there's a little more depth to it. I like the idea that I can poke fun at mundane things in our lives and get people to laugh at them.
4. Where do you find inspiration?
Cartoons, Comics and skateboarding.
5.. How does skateboarding impact your mental health?
Skateboarding is great for my mental health it gives me exercise and also releases dopamine when I land a difficult trick I've been working on for a while. It's also taught me to never give up and that failure isn't the end of the world. Skateboarding is mostly just failing over and over until you land the trick on the hundredth try. It also has given me loads of friends.
6. Where can we find your work? (social media…etc)
You can follow me on instagram
https://www.instagram.com/pigeonboyart/
I also have a small online shop where I sell t-shirts/ prints etc