Jake paints his friend and fellow performer Matt Payne — aka Matt in the Hat — while they trace six years of friendship that began in lockdown Brighton. Matt takes us through the collapse of his old identity and the strange, synchronicity-laced rebirth that followed — one that took him from terrified lockdown obedience to the front line of the protest movement, and eventually to the harder, quieter work of looking at himself.

They also discuss what has happened to the "freedom movement" since those early days — how the sense of unity at gigs and marches gave way to infighting and division. Matt argues the answer is not more finger-pointing outward but for people to actually examine themselves.

A funny, unguarded conversation about identity, faith and self-doubt — a portrait of a man who turned a personal breakdown and a global crisis into a new life built on poetry, honesty, and made a star of his 92-year-old mum along the way.

To see more of Matt's videos: https://www.youtube.com/@mattinahat6185

To keep abreast of all things A Thousand Words go to https://substack.com/@jakefern

For more information on Jake Fern's art, go to https://www.jakefern.co.uk/ or https://www.therighteousbrothers.uk/

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