ROLE MODEL
METAL WORKS WORDS LEIGH ROBSHAW PHOTOS LISA PEARL
MATTHEW MOHR POURS his heart and soul into his art. In fact, it’s a matter of life or death for him. After becoming an auxiliary firefighter with the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services three years ago, he began to suffer post-traumatic stress disorder and turned to metal art as an emotional outlet. There’s a lot going on inside his head as he brings the pieces to life. Crocodiles, horses, pelicans and sharks come to life in his Glass House Mountains studio as he sorts through the mental images of the traumas he witnesses on a daily basis. “There was a night about two years ago where I just couldn’t sleep,” he says. “I had been to a couple of bad jobs, came home and thought, ‘I’ve just got to do something’. I thought I’d try and make something in the shed. The first thing I made was a little rose. I was really happy and it started 26
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from there. I made a tuna and as I worked, I started feeling better inside. I thought, ‘this is going to help me with what I do’. Some guys at the station go for a bike ride or go to the gym. Each person has a little niche.” Matthew grew up in Browns Plains and took on an apprenticeship as a welder and boilermaker after school. But it wasn’t until he joined the emergency services that he thought to turn his trade into an art form. On call around the clock, he can attend anywhere up to 12 jobs in one day, many of them fatal. Constantly being exposed to the worst of human suffering at the age of 36 is a tough call. “Sometimes you ask yourself about your job choices,” he says. “Why do I do this? There’s good and there’s bad. When we save people that makes up for a lot. But there are sad times
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