Meet Photographer Matt Wilson

I want to introduce all of you guys to one of the brightest and best photographers I have had the privilege of meeting in Chile (and no, it’s not my husband Francisco who does many of the pics for our books/website/blog, although he certainly qualifies. :).

Meet Matt Wilson. Matt is an expat like myself, hailing from the UK, who I came to know through a series of wine-related acquaintances and coincidences. It is most certainly a small world, and in Chile, even smaller. I have been really moved by the edginess, depth, and emotional component of Matt’s work. His ability to capture people, places, personalities, geographies, and moments in time is in a word–inspirational.

So let’s get a little background before getting his cheeky responses to my candid questions.

Matt studied photography in New York at the ICP back in the early 90s although photography was an interest that had ignited nearly a decade before that when he photographed Gypies in the south of France and skateboarding in Brighton, England. He later worked in the music industry in video productions in London and doing tour photography for Hip-Hop bands, like The Roots.

After being in Manhattan on 9-11, he got disillusioned with the US and consequently moved back to Brighton where he began to exhibit his Hip Hop images at a local gallery. The curator there was Solange Leon of the Artichoke Group. They became good friends and one day, her sister Andrea Leon (winemaker of Casa Lapostolle in Chile, I may add), came to the UK for The London Wine Fair. Matt and her hooked up after a day or two and the rest is a classic love story. He came to Chile regularly to see her. It got serious. He decided to move to Chile. As Andrea put it, “Chile has better grapes and light, I’ll move to the UK in 2020 when the grapes are good there.” And so he has made his home in the Colchagua Valley.

The rest of the dish is directly in his words. Vamos ahí.

How did you come to focus on the wine industry and specifically portraits? What are you looking for when you get behind the lenses? What details call you?

I knew nothing about wine when I first moved here, and I still do not know that much. However, I needed to work and the music scene in Chile is pretty limited. So I started shooting wineries and the people involved in the wine industry.

My portraits come from my background of music and skateboard photography. I like wide angles, glaring colors or harsh contrast. I like to create a big impression with one image. At first, the wine industry was not impressed. However, gradually over the years they have accepted my work more. I am now finishing book number three, so I must be doing something right.

Do you think that you can capture people’s essence, or souls, with photography?

I’m not sure it’s possible to capture someone’s soul, more like a fraction of their personality in that brief moment that gives us a clue to who they are. Each subject is different. I try to get something out of them that will shock the viewer. For me, it’s more important for someone to remember my work than to like it.

I once heard from a big wine producer in Chile, “Why would you photograph someone smashing a bottle of wine?”. This pleased me a lot. Also Aurelio Montes, founder of Montes Winery, once said, “I love Matts work, I will never hire him. ” Again, that’s a great compliment from a star of the wine world. For me I like to think the extreme creates an impression.

Who was your most memorable subject?

In wine portraiture that subject is winemaker Grant Phelps of Casas del Bosques (Casablanca). He is a good friend of mine as well as one of the few subjects I can work with time and time again. We always find something new to do. We bounce ideas off of each other and it’s always a 50-50 input into the final image produced. I first photographed Grant four years ago for a competition in Decanter magazine in the UK. The image was of him looking through a glass of Sauvignon Blanc from very close up with a fish eye lens. The photos title is actually “Fear and loathing in Colchagua” in homage to Ralph Steadman’s illustrations for Hunter S. Thompson’s book Fear and Loathing is Las Vegas. The idea for the portrait was Grant’s. I won the competition and became infamous in the wine world. People still say to me, “Aha you’re the guy that did that insane photo of the guy’s reflection in the wine glass.”

You live in a part of Chile that was riveted by the February earthquake and largely overlooked by the international media. Did you head out to take photos? Was it therapeutic for the healing process and coming to terms with what happened in those 3 minutes when the earth moved?

Colchagua was hit hard in the 2010 earthquake. I was away on the coast with my family (thankfully) we only got a 7.2 where we were. However when we got home I was amazed at the damage to our area. Our home was fine, and we did have some material loss, but we were so lucky compared to many other people we know. I took many photographs for a series are on tour with Wines of Chile at the moment. Called “Shaken but not Broken”. After a few weeks it got very depressing seeing all the rubble around. It has since been removed but there are big open spaces of mud where these gorgeous old Adobe houses used to be.

What do you love most about Chile? The least?

My wife and kids come first. Without Andrea, I would not have discovered this place and would not have my kids. I adore the wine. I was a total wine novice. Now, when I go back to the UK my family and friends think of me as a wine expert (poor deluded souls). The landscape too. I love driving along and seeing mountains reaching up to the top of the sky, the rivers, the forests. Chile is so diverse. There is everything here. The Atacama, the south, and Rapa Nui–a totally crazy, insane place. I love it there.

My least favorite parts of Chile? I cannot understand the culture of being late. How can anyone be so rude as to be late and waste my time/life? I give people 15 minutes and if they do not arrive then it’s chau amigo. And well, the driving here! What is that all about? How can any culture be so bad? I love the way people say, “Well, we are better than Peru, Bolivia and Argentina.” Why not try to be the best instead of not the worst?

Buying here is also a challenge. For example, buying bread in Chile takes 3 or 4 people. You choose the bread, someone weighs it, someone else puts it in a bag, someone gives you a ticket and you pay someone else to actually get it! Hold on! I can save you a lot of money here shop owners. Just get one person to do it all!

What’s next for you?

My second book is now available on Amazon and book number three is in the final stages. I am finishing a few more shots in spring to hopefully have it out for Christmas.

I also am starting to shoot some fashion. Chile has a very mediocre fashion scene (compared to Buenos Aires or Sao Paulo). Some people have noticed my style of work and want me to begin to shoot fashion here. I have not shot anything like that in nearly twenty years. Now that I’m older its easier–I don’t get distracted by the models so much! As a twenty year-old I thought about the girls more than the photography…

If you’re headed to Brighton, England, stop by Drakes of Brighton. I have a permanent exhibition there as well, all photos from the Chilean wine industry. Right now, the chef Andy MacKensie, a good friend of mine, and I are discussing working on a book of portraits, food and wine pairings for them. His restaurant is one of the best places to eat in the south of England.

Cheers!