ARID
Graphic Design, Illustration, Animation, Photography, Sculpture, Music, Screenwriting
In September 2023, John Brown University my first ever gallery called ‘Arid.’ The gallery consisted of graphic design, digital illustration, animation, photography, sculpture, a supplemental 5-track EP, and a published screenplay.
The gallery was open from September 1 to September 18 in JBU’s student gallery space.
Buy the screenplay here
Listen to the EP here
Art can be one of the most revealing, vulnerable, and honest things if you let it. It can act as a vessel of emotion and a way to connect with others through our experiences and learnings.
During my college years, I walked through much hardship and needed a way to process the four year roller coaster ride. ‘Arid’ was a dream that I had well before I ever thought about college. It blossomed from a young age where all of my passions for film, art, music, and writing started to form. In high school, I dreamed of a multi-faceted experience but felt I was “too green” to pull it off.
What changed in college that made me feel like I should go for it?
Was it the pain I experienced? Was it the skills I learned.
No.
It was the acceptance that art can’t be perfect. It just needs to be honest.
‘Arid’ is Matthew Campbell all out there. Each print, each lyric, each piece of dialogue speak to parts of me.
THE INSPIRATION
In the spring of 2022, I set out on a transformative cross-country road trip from Arkansas to Arizona. The journey took me along the iconic Route 66, where every mile seemed to resonate with history and possibility. As I captured the haunting beauty of abandoned gas stations and forgotten roadside attractions, something clicked for me as the photography became a cathartic experience. The images I shot began to weave themselves into something more, something bigger.
Inspired by the writing of Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone and the timeless mid-century design scattered across the landscape of Route 66, I conceived Arid, a narrative that draws from both the surreal and the decaying, blending the nostalgia of the past with a unknown future ahead.
THE OPENING
On September 15, 2023, I debuted ‘Arid’ to the public. The gallery opened at John Brown University’s student gallery space and ran for two weeks. Over one hundred people came to the event and took part in the ‘Arid’ experience, while hundreds visited throughout the run of the gallery.
In addition to the work on display, I performed the full music project. DJ 4:12 joined me onstage as we debuted the new project. I handed out copies of the screenplay that coincided with the story of the gallery as it would allow the story to continue beyond the work in the gallery.
It was such an amazing experience to share this very intimate and personal project with peers, friends, family, and strangers.
PUBLICATIONS:
THE WORK
The work within the gallery consisted of digital illustration, screen prints, animation, sculpture, photography, and much more.
