Talk:Matt Ottley

Conflict-of-interest disclosure

I interviewed Matt Ottley at his home and subsequently met him twice in a professional context. I am not employed or paid by him, and we are not friends. Because I have had direct contact with the subject, I am disclosing a possible or apparent conflict of interest. I am submitting Draft:Matt Ottley through Articles for Creation for independent review. My Wikipedia username is Tansy1213. Tansy1213 (talk) 05:15, 11 August 2026 (UTC)

Request to expand The Sound of Picture Books section

I would like to request an expansion of the article's coverage of The Sound of Picture Books. My possible conflict of interest and previous contact with Matt Ottley are disclosed above. The proposed replacement preserves the existing material while adding independently published coverage and clearly attributing information taken from the project's official website. Please consider replacing the existing “Music and multimodal works” section with:

Music and multimodal works

In 2014, Ottley and writer Danny Parker developed The Sound of Picture Books, a live performance project combining picture-book text, illustrations and music. It was subsequently presented through The Literature Centre in Western Australia. The West Australian Symphony Orchestra reported that more than 1,000 Perth students attended workshops for the project in 2014. The program combined narration, projected illustrations and Ottley's original music, performed by a WASO string quintet and a Yamaha pianist. In 2023, The West Australian described the performances as combining narration, projected illustrations and live music, with the author narrating while musicians performed Ottley's score. The project's official history states that it has been presented through The Literature Centre in partnership with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra and Yamaha, as well as at literary and arts festivals in Australia and overseas. Ottley is the project's founder and co-director, while Tina Wilson is its co-director and narrator. Wilson's Afloat in Venice, for which Ottley composed the music, was presented by The Literature Centre and the West Australian Symphony Orchestra in Fremantle in 2021. The performances featured seven WASO musicians, pianist Alf Demasi and narration by Wilson. In 2025, The Messy Bath Monster was presented in Geraldton with Wilson, Ottley and members of the Perth Symphony Orchestra as part of a Western Australian tour. Ottley's later multimodal work The Tree of Ecstasy and Unbearable Sadness pairs an illustrated narrative with a 50-minute score co-composed with pianist Alf Demasi. Its recording is narrated by Tina Wilson and features the Czech Philharmonic Choir of Brno. The work also includes a 50-minute animated film created from the book's 74 paintings and illustrations. Its symphonic score was recorded by the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra and the Czech Philharmonic Choir of Brno. Ottley has said that the work drew on his experiences of bipolar disorder and psychosis and that he intended it to help reduce stigma surrounding mental illness. Ottley has described synaesthesia as influencing the relationship between his visual and musical work, explaining that pitched sounds produce colours and shapes in his visual perception. I also suggest adding this entry under “External links”: The Sound of Picture Books official website Tansy1213 (talk) 23:43, 11 August 2026 (UTC)

One small correction to my request: please format the first appearance of each relevant title as The Sound of Picture Books and The Tree of Ecstasy and Unbearable Sadness. This will allow the links to become active automatically if the proposed standalone articles are accepted. Tansy1213 (talk) 23:46, 11 August 2026 (UTC)

Request to add portrait photograph

Please add the following freely licensed portrait near the beginning of the article, before the opening paragraph: thumb|Matt Ottley in 2026 I took the photograph, uploaded it to Wikimedia Commons as my own work, and Matt Ottley explicitly consented to its publication on Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons. Tansy1213 (talk) 00:25, 12 August 2026 (UTC)

Comment: Perhaps you meant File:Matt Ottley.jpg? Beta Beta Beta - talk 01:30, 12 August 2026 (UTC)