“A dusting of love”: Matt Stetson creates mini portals to an almost utopian vision of the past

Reminiscence has always been a large part of the art that defines our culture. H.G. Wells, Edgar Allen Poe and Mark Twain all wrote definitive stories in the 19th century about nostalgia and the mystery of the distant past. Think time travel movies such as Back To The Future or Peggy Sue Got Married, classic 80s flicks that idolise the 60s. Most recently, Stranger Things renewed a cultural interest in 80s creature features, neon lights and synthwave soundtracks and vapourwave, a musical subculture sometimes associated with 80s consumer capitalism, became popular in 2015. It seems to be in our nature to always sentimentally look backwards at how things used to be – a sort of safe place and retreat from our realities. Whereas philosophers such as Mark Fisher called this obsession “hauntology”, which carries implications of an eschatological omen, others see a Shangria-La of endearing, bygone media that doesn’t haunt but has the breeze of a fond memory.

Static Rerun, AKA Matt Stetson, runs an Instagram archive with the mission objective of “recreating, reliving and rewinding back to the 80s and 90s” through impressively curated objects of the past. “I just want to create something that will instantly transform the viewer to a warm memory or happier time,” says Matt. His highly designed videos appear more like set pieces than the typical archival page, with a ton of thought put into the construction of the image and the relation between the presented media. “Ever since I was little I’ve been obsessed with themed calendars and books like I Spy and they have definitely influenced what I do in my photography,” says Matt. Influences of wimmelbooks (wordless picture books filled with detailed scenes) and spotters’ guides make sense – artefacts of the time give viewers visual clues on the specific era; Vanilla Ice, Super Mario World and bottles of the rare Crystal Pepsi take the viewer to the early 90s, whereas E.T, Big and Rambo take us to the 80s. It’s like Where’s Wally, but one that involves your own childhood.

For many, the 80s and 90s won’t be their idea of childhood. Nowadays, revivals of fashion trends and emerging internet aesthetics are flavoured primarily by the noughties and 2010s. But for Matt, staying true to his own personal history is important. “My biggest influence would have to be my father, whom we lost in 2017,” says Matt. “Once he passed I felt an obligation to chase my creativity to show him honor and as a thank you for everything he gave up for me.” Perhaps why nostalgia prevails so much in our culture is because it is our nostalgia, our own personalised and untouchable feeling. When Matt creates cathedrals of Gen-X memorabilia, he transforms it from clutter to curio, from trash to testimonial. “It doesn’t hurt that the 80s and 90s were easily the best two decades to grow up,” says Matt.

Today, the analog could not be any more romanticised. Consumer trends see people moving from CD to vinyl, bluetooth to wired headphones – even cassette players. Collectors of VHS still roam the internet, attempting to keep the medium alive. “I just think there is something magical, almost spiritual about physically owning a piece of cinema,” says Matt. Collecting goodies from antique shops, eBay and independent online retailers, Matt is simply chasing the warmth of the physical. “Maybe it’s the energy we put into them, maybe it’s years of stored muscle memory, or perhaps a dusting of love from the filmmakers themselves,” says Matt. “Whatever it is, it feels way better than doom scrolling any streaming site.”