2022-2023

What's the Porpoise is an ongoing series on the exploration of the afterlife and the struggles of dealing with grief. The title being a play on words in order to ask these immortal questions, of what happens to oneself after death. Many of these drawings were recorded to show the creative progress, music is a large part of Matthew's process and can be seen in the videos he shared on social media. The Instagram videos remain as part of the art, and the music connected to these video snippets reflect some of Matthew's intentions, and influence. 

Playlist for What's the Porpoise

Instagram In-Progress Videos

Part I-Death and a Funeral

After the shutdown of Dolphin Papers, and the loss of Matthew's dear friend Cliff Funk. These initial frames were created as a way to work through the immediate tragedy.  As the ship of Dolphin Papers crashes, Matthew carries the coffin of his friend through the corridors of the sinking ship, and to safety, where the spirit within the coffin can be released. 

Frame 9.9-Erased Memories of God

Serving as a transitionary piece between parts one and two, Erased Memories of God is a unique piece, as most of it no longer exists.
​The scenery around the drawing was erased after it was made, and the only records of the scenery are the videos Matthew took while creating it. The piece works to show that in the absence of answers there are no truths about gods.

Video of Frame 9 Creation

Part II-Into the Abyss and Beyond

This section shows the continuation of the spirit's final death, and search for heaven. It also has the first incarnation of a dreamlike mountain island. The island is meant to be a visual representation of heaven, or the afterlife. It originates in a dream Matthew had in 2010, but appears here as a center point for the soul's journey.

Part III-Dolphin's Death

This part explores aspects of greed, and the people out to leach and steal what isn't their own. The Fool's Gold image shows a man on fire surrounded by water but instead of quenching his pain, he's obsessed with finding buried treasure which can never be reached. Crows encircle him looking to pick his the flesh from his bones. The octopus seen in several frames represents the ultimate monster to which the fool will discover at the end of his hole. Through death, the Dolphin is seen defeating the Octopus so focused on its hoard of gold. The Dolphin crushes the Octopus, and moves on into the stars. 

Part IV-​Journey into the Afterlife

After the loss of the dolphin, we see this section explore the soul separating itself from the corporeal form of the body. Frames depicting the soul form moving through a rib cage and into an afterlife area consisting of the island mountain. Frame 42: Overview Map for the Afterlife offers the best view showing the logistics of where the island mountain exists in relationship to the ocean vortex with the waterfall, both locations appear throughout the series, and connect to some of Matthew's previous artwork in Extinction, and island mountain paintings. The image of the hands lifting this golden water light would lead to Matthew creating the hand drawing, Frame 41.5; It Takes Two.

Frame 41.5-It Takes Two

This is a stand-alone frame created as an exercise and practice for drawing hands. Matthew Eickhoff was born with his right hand closed shut, and is naturally left handed. He had multiple surgeries on his right hand as a baby and child. When painting or drawing, many times Matthew will unconsciously draw all right hands as his own. The process video for this frame shows Matthew drawing his right hand with his left, as well as drawing his left hand with his right hand. The end product shows the differences in his style when drawing with each hand, but it also demonstrates his control and ability to draw regardless of the dexterity of digits.

Part V- Through the Dream Realm

As the soul light moves into the afterlife, we see different realms of the afterlife depicted in this part. Frame 43 and 45 shows the corporeal form entering an endless light in a stratospheric color shift, the soul becoming pure light. Frame 46 shows the soul light visiting other previous incarnations, depicting how the soul can exist in multiple lives while remaining one. Frames 48 and 49 both depict dreams Matthew had about his mother after she died, in both it shows multiple souls communing as they reflect on loss. Many of the frames show serene landscapes and other worldly imagery as a way of showing the soul's bodiless journey into these realms of the unknown.

Frame 55-Where House Where

The only fully standalone frame in the series, that does not contribute to the overall story. It is about the passage of time as it relates to the land. Consisting of six separate landscape panels, going from untouched and undeveloped land, to farmland, to warehouses, this serves as a commentary on the corruption of beautiful land being turned into rows of ugly grey boxes.

Frame 57-Talking Notes

Inspired by Cliff Funk's love of Jazz and all genres of music,
​as well as Matthew's own affinity for creating visual representations of sound, this frame shows a note being played.

Part VI-Past Life Memories

This section of frames moves into some of the darker themes of the entire series. We see the soul enter a blue box that works as an access point for the soul light to move into past life memories. The Roman Era imagery depicts a person about to be executed that rises up to kill their oppressor, only to be killed while fleeing. The last few frames shows the moment the soul leaves the body and into the afterlife. 

Frame 78-Fixing a Hole

Somewhat of a stand alone frame, this image shows a water droplet exploding, or a planet crashing. Matthew has stated that it was created from making the best out of the mistakes that kept occurring while drawing. 

Part VII-Hopes and Fears

This last part moves into the final stages of the soul journey and back into the physical forms. This part offers both serene nature landscapes but also critiques on capitalism, global warming, consumerism. There is a very real impeding doom vibe offered up between peaceful psychedelic color rich landscapes. The hauling trash in a flood shows the weight of possessions when faced with insurmountable odds, and to what purpose do these things really hold when surviving.

Frame 100-Tipping Point

The conclusion to the series, and the only frame done on a large scale, Tipping Point symbolizes the final passage of the spirit in a soul canoe. The water also symbolizes the sorrow and sadness of the ones left behind, unable to pass on, but the soul canoe is untouched by the sadness.

Intermission-Tangential Velocity

Around a month later, Matthew came back to the series. This was an experiment for him, serving both as a way for him to test new mediums, and also a way to create a possible stepping stone to more work if he ever wished to come back to the series and continue it again.

2025

Frame 101-Chasing Hope

Continuing from where What's the Porpoise left off with Tipping Point, this painting was created in response to loss, and knowing loved ones were facing insurmountabl uncertiny. This upward climbing soul moving as fast and feeling the fleetiing movement of stability beneath them, the red feels both like blood, and a sunset on water. The ice melts as the soul light is Chasing Hope.

Frame 102-Breaking Through

Created shortly after Chasing Hope, this painting continues the journey of that same figure as they find their way through to the next level, Breaking Through to the other side. Matthew is influenced by video games from his youth, and is showing a moment in the Atari Game Breakout right before the digital ball makes it into the top portion and begins to bounce back and forth clearing most of the blocks away. Instead of just the white square bar paddle in the game, we see an archer making their last shot. The use of the pyramid shape can be a reference to the island mountain repeatedly seen in prior panels representing an afterlife place.