{"id":7049598,"date":"2026-08-28T01:21:03","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T01:21:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/entertainment\/art\/matthew-blackburns-art-hands-you-the-controller-to-your-own-childhood\/"},"modified":"2026-08-28T01:21:03","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T01:21:03","slug":"matthew-blackburns-art-hands-you-the-controller-to-your-own-childhood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7049598","title":{"rendered":"Matthew Blackburn&#8217;s art hands you the controller to your own childhood"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The 2000s seem to be having a moment. That decade is everywhere. In our clothes and music, in our conversations. Even in art and design. Many of us are pining for a moment we either experienced firsthand or wish we had.<\/p>\n<p>What is it about that era that sparks so much love? Nostalgia is a deceptive thing. It makes us look back through rose-tinted glasses, often forgetting why now might be better. But perhaps that&#8217;s not quite what&#8217;s going on here. As Johannesburg painter Matthew Blackburn sees it, nostalgia is a more complicated emotion than simple comfort. His still life artworks prove it.<\/p>\n<p>Just take a look at &#8216;Saturday Morning 2001&#8217;. He&#8217;s painted a bedroom through a fisheye lens, warped at the edges like an old cathode-ray telly used to show your favourite programme \u2013 giving you a first-person view. You&#8217;re literally holding the controller to another life. You are, in every sense, playing as a younger version of yourself.<\/p>\n<p>Why this theme? It began with a brief. The painting was made for Tomorrow is Listening \u2013 a group show at Rust-en-Vrede Gallery in Durbanville, Cape Town, based on memories and &#8220;memory keeping&#8221;. &#8220;I&#8217;ve always been drawn to nostalgia,&#8221; he tells Creative Boom, &#8220;so I wanted to incorporate subject matter that would remind me of my childhood, particularly video games and skateboarding. From there, I decided to recreate my childhood bedroom, using clich\u00e9 pop icons to push the retro, nostalgic atmosphere of my work. That then evolved into a game within a game, giving the audience the controller and placing them in the first-person perspective.&#8221; It&#8217;s a simple flip, but it throws us right back to that memory, when all that mattered was making it to the next level.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-media not-prose -mx-6 my-12 space-y-6 md:mx-0 md:my-16\">\n<figure class=\"space-y-2\" itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/creative-boom-media.lon1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/9f9041bc-b9bd-4fdd-a9f3-5190c7940055\/conversions\/46746576aac28012b4560186aeb64fad50ca54be-medium.webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/creative-boom-media.lon1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/9f9041bc-b9bd-4fdd-a9f3-5190c7940055\/conversions\/46746576aac28012b4560186aeb64fad50ca54be-thumb.webp 320w, https:\/\/creative-boom-media.lon1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/9f9041bc-b9bd-4fdd-a9f3-5190c7940055\/conversions\/46746576aac28012b4560186aeb64fad50ca54be-small.webp 640w, https:\/\/creative-boom-media.lon1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/9f9041bc-b9bd-4fdd-a9f3-5190c7940055\/conversions\/46746576aac28012b4560186aeb64fad50ca54be-medium.webp 1280w, https:\/\/creative-boom-media.lon1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/9f9041bc-b9bd-4fdd-a9f3-5190c7940055\/conversions\/46746576aac28012b4560186aeb64fad50ca54be-large.webp 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 768px) 944px, 100vw\" alt=\"Saturday Morning 2001 \u00a9 Matthew Blackburn\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"bg-cream-900 h-auto w-full\" width=\"2835\" height=\"3543\"\/><meta itemprop=\"url\" content=\"https:\/\/creative-boom-media.lon1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/9f9041bc-b9bd-4fdd-a9f3-5190c7940055\/conversions\/46746576aac28012b4560186aeb64fad50ca54be-medium.webp\"\/><meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"2835\"\/><meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"3543\"\/><figcaption class=\"mt-3 px-6 text-base md:px-0 [&amp;_a]:underline [&amp;_a]:transition-colors [&amp;_a]:hover:decoration-transparent\">\n<p>Saturday Morning 2001 \u00a9 Matthew Blackburn<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Next comes &#8216;Sunday Morning 2001&#8217;, a pared-back version of the same idea. On closer inspection, you&#8217;ll notice the colours of the Froot Loops in the bowl echo the four classic symbols on the PlayStation controller sitting beside them. The same palette of green, pink, blue, and that particular cyan. That&#8217;s deliberate. &#8220;My planning usually starts off very basic, a few rough sketches, just to start conceptualising what the layout may be,&#8221; he explains. &#8220;I then gather an assortment of props and set up a scene where I take several reference photos, interchanging the different props, altering lighting and keeping in mind the compositional tools to create a visually satisfying work.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;From that, I use my reference images to find my colour palettes, mixing colours and often exaggerating certain hues to help create colour and contrast. I figure out the layout, sketch everything in with pencil, and only then does the painting begin.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>He works in acrylic on hardboard, a fast-drying medium he&#8217;s spent years perfecting. He builds layers of refined brush marks until the surface reads as photographic. The finished works are then framed in museum-style gold. This leads nicely to my next observation: Matthew is inspired by the old masters.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-media not-prose -mx-6 my-12 space-y-6 md:mx-0 md:my-16\">\n<figure class=\"space-y-2\" itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/creative-boom-media.lon1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/b604349d-a94b-440c-9471-9bdce1465cd6\/conversions\/a5ca5bc04b63b5ac92b749f4d6304eb38ac8bbe7-medium.webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/creative-boom-media.lon1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/b604349d-a94b-440c-9471-9bdce1465cd6\/conversions\/a5ca5bc04b63b5ac92b749f4d6304eb38ac8bbe7-thumb.webp 320w, https:\/\/creative-boom-media.lon1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/b604349d-a94b-440c-9471-9bdce1465cd6\/conversions\/a5ca5bc04b63b5ac92b749f4d6304eb38ac8bbe7-small.webp 640w, https:\/\/creative-boom-media.lon1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/b604349d-a94b-440c-9471-9bdce1465cd6\/conversions\/a5ca5bc04b63b5ac92b749f4d6304eb38ac8bbe7-medium.webp 1280w, https:\/\/creative-boom-media.lon1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/b604349d-a94b-440c-9471-9bdce1465cd6\/conversions\/a5ca5bc04b63b5ac92b749f4d6304eb38ac8bbe7-large.webp 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 768px) 944px, 100vw\" alt=\"Sunday Morning 2001 \u00a9 Matthew Blackburn\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"bg-cream-900 h-auto w-full\" width=\"5906\" height=\"7087\"\/><meta itemprop=\"url\" content=\"https:\/\/creative-boom-media.lon1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/b604349d-a94b-440c-9471-9bdce1465cd6\/conversions\/a5ca5bc04b63b5ac92b749f4d6304eb38ac8bbe7-medium.webp\"\/><meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"5906\"\/><meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"7087\"\/><figcaption class=\"mt-3 px-6 text-base md:px-0 [&amp;_a]:underline [&amp;_a]:transition-colors [&amp;_a]:hover:decoration-transparent\">\n<p>Sunday Morning 2001 \u00a9 Matthew Blackburn<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Vanitas might seem like an odd home for PS1 controllers, but Matthew thinks otherwise. The old Dutch tradition of still lifes is usually crammed with skulls, candles and overripe fruit, reminding us that we&#8217;re all going to die. But in Matthew&#8217;s work, he tries to convey something else. &#8220;Vanitas was a means for artists to convey messages relevant to the times,&#8221; he says. &#8220;By using these modern-day items, I&#8217;m able to appeal to and relate to a more contemporary audience while still maintaining a classical feel in my paintings. The mass-produced items also allow me to address themes such as consumerism and addiction.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>You&#8217;ll find genie lamps and grapes on one side of an artwork, Rubik&#8217;s cubes and cereal on the other. His current body of work, &#8216;Golden Age&#8217;, continues this \u2013 paintings have titles like &#8216;Emptiness&#8217; and &#8216;Extinguished&#8217;. Dark themes, he admits. But not, he&#8217;s careful to point out, pessimistic ones. He&#8217;d rather they prompt a bit of self-reflection than gloom. So this is where nostalgia stops being cosy.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Nostalgia is a complex emotion. You can be happy and sad at the same time.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;There is definitely a level of comfort in it; that is part of the reason why people rewatch movies or play old video games,&#8221; he continues. &#8220;Nostalgia is a complex emotion. You can be happy and sad at the same time. Happy you got to experience something, but sad that you will never get to experience it the same way again. It&#8217;s a reminder of the transience of life.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-media not-prose -mx-6 my-12 space-y-6 md:mx-0 md:my-16\">\n<figure class=\"space-y-2\" itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/creative-boom-media.lon1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/0f679f70-2146-4d2d-9783-ecc0c3918679\/conversions\/f494d02226efda3c29e93a05808a58c9745b260e-medium.webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/creative-boom-media.lon1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/0f679f70-2146-4d2d-9783-ecc0c3918679\/conversions\/f494d02226efda3c29e93a05808a58c9745b260e-thumb.webp 320w, https:\/\/creative-boom-media.lon1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/0f679f70-2146-4d2d-9783-ecc0c3918679\/conversions\/f494d02226efda3c29e93a05808a58c9745b260e-small.webp 640w, https:\/\/creative-boom-media.lon1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/0f679f70-2146-4d2d-9783-ecc0c3918679\/conversions\/f494d02226efda3c29e93a05808a58c9745b260e-medium.webp 1280w, https:\/\/creative-boom-media.lon1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/0f679f70-2146-4d2d-9783-ecc0c3918679\/conversions\/f494d02226efda3c29e93a05808a58c9745b260e-large.webp 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 768px) 944px, 100vw\" alt=\"Calm Before the Storm \u00a9 Matthew Blackburn\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"bg-cream-900 h-auto w-full\" width=\"5988\" height=\"4000\"\/><meta itemprop=\"url\" content=\"https:\/\/creative-boom-media.lon1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/0f679f70-2146-4d2d-9783-ecc0c3918679\/conversions\/f494d02226efda3c29e93a05808a58c9745b260e-medium.webp\"\/><meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"5988\"\/><meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"4000\"\/><figcaption class=\"mt-3 px-6 text-base md:px-0 [&amp;_a]:underline [&amp;_a]:transition-colors [&amp;_a]:hover:decoration-transparent\">\n<p>Calm Before the Storm (close up) \u00a9 Matthew Blackburn<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-media not-prose -mx-6 my-12 space-y-6 md:mx-0 md:my-16\">\n<figure class=\"space-y-2\" itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/creative-boom-media.lon1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/58798860-a237-458c-8327-53e12bea5abb\/conversions\/d91e50f4a05a0d32adeab9c9b9746068700ec3c9-medium.webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/creative-boom-media.lon1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/58798860-a237-458c-8327-53e12bea5abb\/conversions\/d91e50f4a05a0d32adeab9c9b9746068700ec3c9-thumb.webp 320w, https:\/\/creative-boom-media.lon1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/58798860-a237-458c-8327-53e12bea5abb\/conversions\/d91e50f4a05a0d32adeab9c9b9746068700ec3c9-small.webp 640w, https:\/\/creative-boom-media.lon1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/58798860-a237-458c-8327-53e12bea5abb\/conversions\/d91e50f4a05a0d32adeab9c9b9746068700ec3c9-medium.webp 1280w, https:\/\/creative-boom-media.lon1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/58798860-a237-458c-8327-53e12bea5abb\/conversions\/d91e50f4a05a0d32adeab9c9b9746068700ec3c9-large.webp 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 768px) 944px, 100vw\" alt=\"Emptiness \u00a9 Matthew Blackburn\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"bg-cream-900 h-auto w-full\" width=\"4724\" height=\"3543\"\/><meta itemprop=\"url\" content=\"https:\/\/creative-boom-media.lon1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/58798860-a237-458c-8327-53e12bea5abb\/conversions\/d91e50f4a05a0d32adeab9c9b9746068700ec3c9-medium.webp\"\/><meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"4724\"\/><meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"3543\"\/><figcaption class=\"mt-3 px-6 text-base md:px-0 [&amp;_a]:underline [&amp;_a]:transition-colors [&amp;_a]:hover:decoration-transparent\">\n<p>Emptiness \u00a9 Matthew Blackburn<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>What&#8217;s seriously impressive about Matthew is that he&#8217;s entirely self-taught. He left school in 2012 and didn&#8217;t go full-time as an artist until late 2020. He entered Sasol New Signatures, one of South Africa&#8217;s longest-running art competitions, every year from 2021, making the top 100 two years in a row, before finally taking a merit award in the top seven in 2023 with a painting titled &#8216;Suffocation&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;As discouraging as it can be, I never saw the near misses as a failure but rather an opportunity to improve my work,&#8221; he says. &#8220;Early on in my career, an artist who I admire explained to me that art contests are a gamble, the stars need to line up, and the judges need to all agree on a single artwork. So there is a lot of luck involved; however, the harder you work, the luckier you will become.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Since then, Matthew has enjoyed media attention and, crucially, galleries and collectors are now knocking on his door. He&#8217;s also picked up second place at the Vuleka art competition in 2025, made the Portrait Awards top 40 twice, completed a residency at Rosemary Hill, and shown everywhere from the Pretoria Art Museum to the RMB Latitudes Art Fair.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-media not-prose -mx-6 my-12 space-y-6 md:mx-0 md:my-16\">\n<figure class=\"space-y-2\" itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/creative-boom-media.lon1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/f97d0216-0c7c-4434-9862-27ba36eca16b\/conversions\/88d6c27bb4982cc5d0e936f9e9545ca9191f3d23-medium.webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/creative-boom-media.lon1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/f97d0216-0c7c-4434-9862-27ba36eca16b\/conversions\/88d6c27bb4982cc5d0e936f9e9545ca9191f3d23-thumb.webp 320w, https:\/\/creative-boom-media.lon1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/f97d0216-0c7c-4434-9862-27ba36eca16b\/conversions\/88d6c27bb4982cc5d0e936f9e9545ca9191f3d23-small.webp 640w, https:\/\/creative-boom-media.lon1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/f97d0216-0c7c-4434-9862-27ba36eca16b\/conversions\/88d6c27bb4982cc5d0e936f9e9545ca9191f3d23-medium.webp 1280w, https:\/\/creative-boom-media.lon1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/f97d0216-0c7c-4434-9862-27ba36eca16b\/conversions\/88d6c27bb4982cc5d0e936f9e9545ca9191f3d23-large.webp 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 768px) 944px, 100vw\" alt=\"Natural Habitat \u00a9 Matthew Blackburn\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"bg-cream-900 h-auto w-full\" width=\"7087\" height=\"5906\"\/><meta itemprop=\"url\" content=\"https:\/\/creative-boom-media.lon1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/f97d0216-0c7c-4434-9862-27ba36eca16b\/conversions\/88d6c27bb4982cc5d0e936f9e9545ca9191f3d23-medium.webp\"\/><meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"7087\"\/><meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"5906\"\/><figcaption class=\"mt-3 px-6 text-base md:px-0 [&amp;_a]:underline [&amp;_a]:transition-colors [&amp;_a]:hover:decoration-transparent\">\n<p>Natural Habitat \u00a9 Matthew Blackburn<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Looking again at &#8216;Saturday Morning 2001&#8217;, the painting that caught my eye, he wants to leave us with this question: &#8220;If your future self would be playing your current self in a video game, would it be a game worth playing?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Deep stuff, and Matthew answers the question himself: &#8220;I&#8217;m doing what I love, what I&#8217;m passionate about. I get to paint every day, and I don&#8217;t plan on slowing down anytime soon, so I&#8217;m sure my future self will be more than happy to be playing that game.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The 2000s seem to be having a moment. That decade is everywhere. In our clothes and music, in our conversations. Even in art and design. Many of us are pining for a moment we either experienced firsthand or wish we had. What is it about that era that sparks so much love? Nostalgia is a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7049599,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[100],"tags":[1885,212142,17673,742,1938,7836],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-7049598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-art","tag-art","tag-blackburns","tag-childhood","tag-controller","tag-hands","tag-matthew"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Matthew Blackburn&#039;s art hands you the controller to your own childhood - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The self-taught Johannesburg painter borrows the language of 17th-century still life and fills it with Rubik&#039;s cubes, Coke bottles, and PlayStation controllers,...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7049598\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Matthew Blackburn&#039;s art hands you the controller to your own childhood - 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