Former Somerset House Studios resident

Matthew Plummer-Fernandez

Produces altered data-files and distorted 3D printed objects as “remixed” abstract artworks of geometric beauty.

Somerset House Studios

New Wing

Matthew Plummer-Fernandez is a Colombian-British artist known for playfully and critically exploring socio-cultural entanglements with technology, through sculpture, bots, software, and the blog Algopop.

Customised software, replicability and generative techniques are the focus of his exploration of the automated systems that operate within digital culture and the physical world. Mainly, his artistic practice embraces the serendipity of digital glitch both as a playful and challenging reinterpretation of imperfection as added aesthetic value, and as a means of reflecting political views on free software applications and copyright protected artifacts.

When Matthew Plummer-Fernandez is not developing art critic bots that do as good a job as any art pro at inventing meaning out of abstract forms, he is looking for the presence of algorithms in culture, submitting the most copyright-protected characters of pop culture to elegant digital glitches, or writing an encryption software application that scrambles 3D objects and allows authorized users to repair them with a key.

Regine Debatty WMMNA

Disarming Corruptor, Matthew Plummer-Fernandez

Disarming Corruptor, a free software application that corrupts and encrypts 3D files beyond recognition was awarded with a Distinction at Ars Electronica 2014 and the application has provoked a compelling critical debate on file sharing censorship and potential intellectual property claims, as well as the emerging concern for 3D printing and the sharing of illegal items.

Matthew's work has been commissioned by Rhizome, Arts Co, It’s Nice That and Selfridges. He has shown in galleries and museums worldwide, including Musée d'Art Contemporain de Montréal; Onassis Cultural Centre, Athens; Cyberarts / Ars Electronica, Linz; Brighton Digital Festival and FACT Liverpool. His work has been featured in Forbes, The Guardian, Wired UK, Dazed and Confused, Dezeen and many other publications. Matthew received his MA from the Royal College of Art in 2009, after studies in Graphic Design and a BEng in Computer-Aided Mechanical Engineering at Kings College London. MPF is a member of the Strategic Optimists, a three-sided football team and is represented by Nome, Berlin.