The Archaeology of Tomorrow: Ten Years into the Afterlife

Festival of Matthew Lanyon (1951 – 2016)

At Falmouth University

3rd and 4th July Friday – Sat, 2026

10am - 6pm

The passions and obsessions of Cornish Artist Matthew Lanyon will be at the heart of this unique event. He lived and worked in a dynamic state of seeking out ‘Essential’s List’; what matters in our time and all time, for him, for Cornwall, and all the world. The Archaeology of Tomorrow is a concept Matthew used and manipulated in his work from the mid 1990’s. He worked rigorously and with a sense of time being short for himself and for all humanity - always breaking new ground, whilst carrying a challenging and proud artistic and Cornish inheritance. He documented his life and work to a degree seldom seen, crossing in his lifetime from trowel and spade to hand held pen and camera to digital tools and media, which he embraced. He was deeply conscious of the significance of his time both politically and culturally and held hope for the curiosity and capacity of future generations. Across painting, film, photography, sculpture, construction, stained glass, correspondence, art commentaries and poetry, we will feel his instinct for ambiguity and concealment, resonating, hand in hand with intriguing revelation, often signalling unspeakable emotion. We will play, we will take our time, we will speak and dance, listen, laugh, we will join the hunt and feel the love over two days of festivities; who knows into what tomorrows we will find ourselves.

Featuring

  • An exhibition of iconic works from 1988 – 2016 including several epic paintings, 3D works, unseen Art photographs, Stained glass, Illustrated Poems, Drawings, Constructions, Cartoons and Self portraits

  • Off the Walls: Choreographed Dance performances with words and music in response to Matthew’s work, developed by Debbie Fionn Barr, with composer Barnaby Taylor, and writer Anna Murphy, through collaboration with the Matthew Lanyon Archive over more than a year.

  • Tours of the exhibitions led by MA post graduates from the Courtauld, Exeter and Manchester Metropolitan Universities who have worked closely with the archive during residencies in Penzance since 2024 . Several have assisted with curating and organising this event.

  • Screenings of the creative documentary No Holds Barred, The Life and Art of Matthew Lanyon by Barbara Santi and Judith Lanyon, with live Q&A’s.

  • Unseen Experimental Short Films made by Matthew, some in collaboration with his friend behind the camera, Matthew Pullum

  • Panel discussion: The Archaeology of Tomorrow; Archiving Contemporary Art and Adventures with Matthew Lanyon’s Archive

  • Award of the inaugural Matthew Lanyon Poetry Prize with readings of the winning poems

  • Workshops, Short Talks, Exhibition Tours and hands on interactive activities

Please follow @matthewlanyonestate or email baileyslane@btinternet.com for

details of this free event and how to book onto workshops