Shadow self portrait outside Nana’s house in California. My shadow falls on a cactus in the landscaping.

hi, i’m alex

Self portrait from my first apartment after college. Clicking on this Polaroid will take you to my about page. I mostly use film and showcase it by sharing film photos.

Zines for Palestine is an incubator project with Tech for Palestine

i make zines

What is zionism zine, pictured with a number of zines made as part of Zine for Palestine project.
Banana zine, pictured with a number of zines made as part of Zine for Palestine project.
English language Pink Thawra zine, pictured with a number of zines made as part of Zine for Palestine project.
Liberation zine (liberación para todos los pueblos colonizados), pictured with a number of zines made as part of Zine for Palestine project.

i use film

Polaroid of wedding photos on the church steps. Under the golden lettering of the church doorway, “Guardian Angels” shines above the bride and groom, both smiling and holding hands.
Marriage certificate signing with champagne and donuts, surrounded by rose petals. The champagne is in heart shaped stemware.
This circle frame polaroid of Angie, made at her home. Angie was entered into a contest to win polaroid film and Alex Matzke photographed her in front of a window, holding a blue filter to create the blue light on her face and shoulder.
A hand is visible in the lower right corner of the image, the hand that has just released a small firecracker. Red light explodes in the top left and center of the image. Behind both the hand and fireworks are a dark blue sky with clouds and smoke

(my first photo gig was schlepping gear for wedding photographers; 20 years later, i’m still in love with love)

(for photos of your family that you can hold)

i wait to be invited into the work

i bring difficult messages

COMMUNITY: Gratis porque es bueno compartir. The back of our truck, with the gate open, neighbors reach into a black plastic harvesting try to retrieve pineapple seeds. The sign says, free because its good to share.
polaroid of a banana rack. Typical polaroid emulsion issues obscure the leaves surrounding the rack of bananas.
illuminated by a flash, the banana leaves in the foreground are bright green. The sky behind the plant is a bright gradient of blue sky and yellow clouds, ranging to the dark orange and pinks on the right side of the frame.

(i created an anti-colonial material studies curriculum, only to have it stolen by a tenured white guy, who made a bunch of money from my research and labor—how colonial of him)

informed by my praxis

image of the scrapyard with transmission pipes surrounding the heavy machinery.
recycled-copper bouquet welded by Alex Matzke is photographed with a polaroid camera on top of a pile of steel pipes. Alex went to industrial welding school and learned alongside pipefitters.
Self portrait by the recycling bins. Alex Matzke is photographed with a polaroid camera. Alex went to industrial welding school and learned alongside pipefitters.