This is : Pigeon Boy (Matthew Lauricella)

This is : Pigeon Boy (Matthew Lauricella)
 

We caught up with artistic talent, skate fiend and good friend Matthew 'Pigeon boy' Lauricella after his recent exhibition and zine launch “do a kick flip” was held in Toronto. Unfortunately with the lack of invention of time travel we sadly missed out. While all the images and this interview below have us wishing for some sort of hot tub time machine, this interview is the 2nd best thing to actually being there and board sliding the beer topped flat bar. Hopefully we will see the pigeon fly home for the next art show. 

If you had to have a walk in song play when you arrived last night what would it have been ? 

So tell us all about the new zine you dropped at the 'Do a Kicklip" launch night, what's inside the hand signed 20 pages? And what was it like working with such a unique group of like minded creatives? 

The zine contains interviews with the 7 artists in the show and also showcases photos of their artwork. It gives you an insight into their creative process and it talks about how they got into skateboarding and how the two outlets are so closely linked. It was great to work with this group of artists. I feel since we are all so influenced and linked by skating our art all worked really well together but was also different enough that it didnt just seem like the same thing. I guess because skating is so DIY it was easy to work with this group because they were up for getting involved in any way they could. hanging the work, making flyers, making clips to promote the show etc.
As we didn’t make it to the show is there anyway we or any other Aussie fans would be able to get our hands on one of the zines? Will they be coming out monthly, bi annually, yearly?
This was the first issue so I kept it small and really limited. We only made 50 copies and I numbered all of them by hand. We actually sold out on the opening night, which is  crazy to me, so unfortunately if you weren't there they are all gone. Since the response was so great we'll definitely be doing issue two in the future. Perhaps put out two zines a year with art shows to accompany each one. Maybe we'll do the next one in Australia.
Fill us in on the ins and outs of the night? How wild did it get? Did you manage to do a kick flip? 
The opening night was amazing. I was so blown away by how many people turned up. The support from the skate community can be so amazingly strong. We must have had 200 people come through on the night. We had a flatbar in the middle of the room and a skate session broke out towards the end of the night. Everyone had lined their beer cans up on the flatbar and people were boardsliding the cans down. It was wild. Yeah I even managed to do a kickflip in front of my art on the night.
The group show highlights the creativity and art of skateboarders, Many of the artists in the show including yourself use humour in art. What topics do you find most humorous?
I think you can find humour in pretty much anything. A lot of my art is skateboarding jokes so it probably goes over most average Joe's heads. You have to know about skating to get a lot of the jokes. I try and do artworks about other topics too tho not just skating. I find the idea, the message or the joke behind the artwork is more important to me than how good the actual artwork is. I try and poke fun at social norms in general as I just think some of the things we do and consider normal in society is absurd. But sometimes I keep it simple and I end up just doing a dumb pun or something really silly. The dumber the idea the better really.
Do you feel that humour challenges peoples perspectives in a light hearted way?
Yeah absolutely. If you can challenge someone's opinion and make them laugh whilst doing it then you probably have more chance of actually making them change their mind and start to look at the world in a slightly different way. 

Would you say that you use humour to illustrate views that people often get defensive about such as women in skate, same sex love, and skate politics to get people thinking about their views in different ways? 
Yes. I've never really liked the cliques or exclusivity that can come with skating. I know a lot of people can be discouraged to skate because they feel vibed out at the park or whatever. I like to try and break those barriers down with my art. I've always just been stoked on skating no matter who you are or how good you are at it. Skateboarding is meant to be fun and if you're having fun and enjoying what you're doing that's all that matters. We are all skateboarders and we should support each other and our community. Let's go skate!
What comics, cartoons and other childhood memorabilia most heavily influences your art ? 
I grew up on The Simpsons. It's pretty much been on tv my whole life and I was lucky enough to grow up in the golden age of the show seasons 1-8. I still think these seasons are some of the best television ever made. I learned to draw from watching that show and drawing all the characters. I was also super into comics but I was more into the  short three panel comic strips in the paper like Garfield and peanuts etc than the superhero comics. I basically was drawn to anything that was funny and had some sort of message behind it and that has definitely stayed with me to my art now.
After this group show whats your next move? 
Do a heelflip...
What set up are you riding at the moment? 
Krooked 8.25 Dan Drehobl board, Bobby Dekeyzer 54mm spitfire conicals, Modus Bearings, Independent 144 trucks
Whats your go to skate spot in Aus? How does it compare to your fave in Toronto?
My go to skate spot when I lived in Melbourne was probably Lincoln square before they made it unskateable. After that it was The Carlton Ledges, Urban Park or the Museum. In Toronto I pretty much just skate this red curb spot all the time. I learned all the slappies I know here. So I'd say moving to Toronto helped transition me into my old man skating phase.
Last thing you watched on Netflix?
Ash Vs The Evil Dead 
What did you rate it out of 5?
easily a 5 out of 5

What's your hangover cure?
I actually quit drinking around 5 months ago so I don't get hangovers anymore. Back when I was drinking it was probably just another beer.

What's your go to on the phone or not paying attention doodle?
The graffiti 'S'

finish this sentence….  you don't want to see me when …. I haven't had my morning coffee. 
What are your views on Ibis (the mischievous bird not the hotel)?
Bin Chicken.

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