“Soon enough, I will feel the same way about myself right now as I did in the past”

We talk to Savannah Mattyasovszky about her presentation maybe twelve-year-old me would think i’m cool, recently shown at ST PAUL St Gallery as part of the Master of Visual Arts Graduating Exhibition. The artist reflects on her coming-of-age online; and speaks of her ceramics as being recognisable, commemorative and emotional.

Photography: Paul Chapman

Savannah Mattyasovszky, ST PAUL St Gallery, Tāmaki Makaurau, June 2023

When I met you at the opening all your girlies were there to support you wearing amazing bows in their hair. You also had a great bow, as did one of your vases. Why do you think the bow is having a moment in 2023? 

As much as I would like to say I have my own sense of style, I am easily influenced. We’re coming back around to 2013 fashion, and I’m healing my inner 12-year-old. 

The pink ruffle vases are also really ample and decorative.

I was trying to push my techniques in ceramic texture, and I was also aware of a nervous feeling I had that my work was ‘trying too hard’ or ‘showing off’. I decided I was going to lean into that anxiety and create something that really wanted to be noticed, using a lot of detail. Frills came to mind from watching TikToks of women styling bloomers.

The green apple sculpture is inspired by your work in a supermarket. I loved the little ceramic sticker that looks like it’s melting into the surface. Can you speak more about your job and how this relates to your practice? 

One of my best friends got me a job at the supermarket and we work together often. In a supermarket, you end up memorising all of the apple codes. I only need to see the colour of the sticker or just the apple itself, and the 4-digit code comes to mind instantly. There is so much information and knowledge retained at a retail or customer service job, even though the wage may not reflect it. Since my practice has been so personal, to ignore what’s paying for it would be strange for me.

One of the works is a candelabra that says, “For all the pets that have turned into passwords.” Was this speaking from personal experience? 

If I tell you, will you promise not to stalk my Instagram and find the names of my old pets?

Your artist statement was printed on light yellow paper. Near the end, you said, “I am faced with the prospect that soon enough, I will feel the same way about myself right now as I did in the past.” Do you think about this often and what does it mean to you? 

I think I spent my whole project learning this. Through anxiety and getting older, I have only just lost the naivety of being a teenager and having no regrets. Coming to this realisation let me lean into my anxieties and feed the project in a positive way. I was careful to not let the cycle of regret and embarrassment daunt me, but let it guide me instead. I used to look back on my past online presences and completely cringe. I constantly overshared, and I then became so embarrassed and anxious about how people who knew me back then would think of me now, now that I’ve chilled out a little. But also, I’m still oversharing and I am now trying to make a career out of it. Maybe one day I’ll let it go, but not quite yet; I’m still young.  

Savannah Mattyasovszky, ST PAUL St Gallery, Tāmaki Makaurau, June 2023

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