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Matt Westbrook

@m_westb

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Artist and Lecturer. Ideas often start with collage. Follow for work in progress. Based at Grand Union Birmingham

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Saltmine, (2026)
Blueback print on MDF
1220mm x 4650mm

Image credits:
1 - 3 Matt Westbrook
4-11 @karlbailey

Shown as part of '2126:What If?' @aspexportsmouth alongside works by @maria_de_la_o_garrido and @vanderhume 27th June - 6th September 2026

Measuring nearly five meters wide, this piece is my largest work in recent years. It stems from an exploration of naval imagery that began during my residency at Aspex Portsmouth in January 2026.

Growing up in the area, my childhood was shaped by walks along the seafront and trips to Old Portsmouth. Unlike the funfair, it was free to sit and watch the ships go by, and many days ended up with a game of hide and seek in the hot walls and a lookout from the round tower. A familiar ritual shared by many families I’m sure.

One of my earliest memories is standing on the hot walls in 1982 when my uncle returned from the Falklands War. The sheer scale of the naval ships and the energy of the crowds left a lasting impression on me. Hundreds of vessels filled the Solent, blending seamlessly with the coastline. It made the city feel as though it stretched out into the open sea; floating architecture merging with the buildings on the shoreline.

As a teenager, I found it fascinating how people admired large sea craft like the Naval fleet, yet widely disliked Portsmouth's Tricorn Centre, a famous example of Brutalist architecture that has since sadly (IMO!) been demolished. To me, the two shared a striking resemblance. With its concrete structures, distinct walkways, and self-contained community, the Tricorn was in my eyes Portsmouth’s own inland battleship. A cultural super tanker!

For other works in the exhibition, I researched and used archival images of the Tricorn and the terraced buildings that were demolished to make way for it as source material. Images of managed decline defined both eras, and I was reminded of the stark tradition of reversing closed shop signs in a medieval-esque public announcement of a business's bankruptcy or closure.

Continued in comments...👇 by @m_westb

Thank you 🙏 so much to everyone who came out to the opening of ‘2126: What If’ last night! 🥂 It was a lovely evening, topped off with a cooling pint and walk by the sea 🌊
Despite what my photos show, the place was absolutely packed - you’ll just have to trust me! Record temperatures must have been set for the gallery 🔥🥵
The group show is running until September 6th. Go check it out and let me know what you think!
👇 Featuring work alongside:
@vanderhume
@maria_de_la_o_garrido and also with amazing work by
@ashleydavidjohn in the craft space. Curated by @mayabrasington
📍 At @aspexportsmouth
#AspexPortsmouth #portsmouthcreates by @m_westb

“The original brief was to think about Portsmouth in the future, and so I decided to look at my memories of Portsmouth… I started to think about locations which were familiar to me from my childhood, and to subconsciously make those images in my collages.” 🏙️

We went on a little tour of 2126: What If? with artist Matt Westbrook to find out more about the inspiration behind his works in the exhibition.

Through collage, archival photographs are cut, layered and reimagined, weaving together Portsmouth’s maritime heritage, brutalist architecture and personal memories. Familiar landscapes are transformed into speculative visions of the city, where past and future exist side by side.

📌 Free to visit and on until 6 September

Part of the #Portsmouth100 programme by @m_westb

Guildhall View
(2026)
Blueback print on MDF
83 cm x 122 cm

Shown as part of ‘2126:What If?’ @aspexportsmouth alongside works by @maria_de_la_o_garrido and @vanderhume

27th June - 6th September 2026

Images ©Matt Westbrook and @karlbailey

‘Guildhall View’, is inspired by the fleeting glimpse of Guildhall Square you catch from the train when entering Portsmouth and Southsea station (see the short video at end of the carousel). It’s a journey I first made as a teenager studying for my art foundation course, and one I repeated during my recent residency and exhibition at Aspex.

This split-second view of Guildhall square subconsciously guided the making of the composition. Despite it not being a literal depiction, it evokes a shared perspective and through this approach I wanted to explore how we hold collective, fleeting memories of the cities we inhabit.

The work also draws upon my teenage memories of skateboarding around Portsmouth. The Guildhall and Civic Centre were favourite places to gather, and catching a glimpse of the Guildhall through the train window evokes happy, formative memories for me.

The collage emerged from the body of work I made for ‘2126: What If?’ where I was particularly drawn to images that documented the extensive rebuilding programme Portsmouth underwent in the post-war years. I found compelling starting points in archive photographs of the city’s reconstruction that helped develop new work.

My process involves deconstructing a single image and reassembling it using analogue techniques, limiting digital manipulation initially, but allowing it to assist in developing larger scale work. This method often reveals unexpected, evocative imagery hidden within the original image that I find endlessly fascinating.

Did you see the work in the exhibition? Let me know! 💙 by @m_westb

Sea Defence, 2026
Collage on Fabriano Rosaspina Paper
250mm x 175mm
(Left)

Churchillian Deco, 2026
Collage on Fabriano Rosaspina Paper
250mm x 175mm
(Right)

All images © Matt Westbrook, unless otherwise stated.

Shown as part of '2126:What If?' @aspexportsmouth alongside works by @maria_de_la_o_garrido and @vanderhume

27th June - 6th September 2026

Recent news from Portsmouth has sadly been dominated by far-right groups claiming to ‘defend’ the coast. Placed together, the small works ‘Sea Defence’ and ‘Churchillian Deco’ (both 2026) offer an oblique nod to Portsmouth’s D-Day heritage, a history frequently distorted by these groups to fuel jingoistic narratives.

The Churchill reference also points to the Churchillian pub, a prominent local landmark atop Portsdown Hill that overlooks the city, Langstone and Portsmouth Harbours, and the Isle of Wight. I hoped that visitors familiar with the area would catch this reference, connecting this reimagining of the hilltop pub back to ‘Sea Defence’ and its relationship with the water's edge.

These two pieces were positioned alongside ‘Saltmine’ (2026), the largest work in the exhibition, and directly beneath ‘Surrealist Picnic’ (2025). The latter, a Blueback print on MDF, evokes a ‘Venetian gondola, meets an Edvard Munch stroll along the seafront’ kind of vibe. I was also thinking of Paul Nash, particularly ‘Totes Meer’ (‘Sea Defence’ is made from an image of a naval ship) and his recurring depictions of the concrete sea walls at Dymchurch.

Grouping these four works was an intentional effort to explore the geographical boundaries of Portsea Island and the environmental implications of climate change on the area. (My specific thoughts on ‘Saltmine’ can be found in previous posts).

Portsmouth may never become the Venice of England, but it shares its existential fear of erasure. In recent years, the Southsea Coastal Scheme has dominated local infrastructure as a massive new sea wall is gradually erected around the island. Much is made of the ‘island mentality’ within Portsmouth, the UK's only island city, but my hope is that future Pompey residents continue to look outward, over the wall, to see the bigger picture. by @m_westb

Tricorn Tower,
2026 Blueback print on MDF, 2000mm x 1220mm

Smaller works on shelf (left to right):
School during wartime, 2025, Collage on Fabriano Rosaspina Paper, 175mm x 250mm
Matador strides to the Pyramids, 2025, Collage on Fabriano Rosaspina Paper, 175mm x 250mm
Hot Walls Guns, 2026 Collage on Fabriano Rosaspina Paper, 175mm x 250mm

Image credits:
1, 4, 8-11 Matt Westbrook
2-3 & 5-7 @karlbailey

Shown as part of '2126:What If?' at @aspexportsmouth alongside works by @maria_de_la_o_garrido and @vanderhume (27th June - 6th September 2026).

As a teenager, I found it fascinating how people widely disliked Portsmouth's Tricorn Centre, a now-demolished Brutalist icon. To me, its concrete battlements, high walkways, and self-contained community closely resembled a naval vessel and the numerous military defences populating the city. It was an inland cultural battleship; a bustling hub where I spent many days browsing records, buying clothes, and eating cherries from Charlotte Street market.

For the exhibition at Aspex, I used archival images of the Tricorn and the terraced buildings that were originally demolished to make way for it. The resulting collages kept revealing subverted connections to defensive installations. Portsmouth's military walls and fortifications become invisible when you live there, but whilst making these works from my Birmingham studio, they kept reappearing.

Tricorn Tower, the largest piece, is an enlarged blueback print of a small collage I made from this series. While largely unaltered from its original photo, its serene colour palette contrasts with the building's past, while a yellow doorway imagines a 'Grand Designs' style conversion and a suggested domestic future.
Though the Tricorn was ultimately structurally flawed, I found it comforting to re imagine its memory, as a home for new creative communities. Portsmouth’s own 'Barbican’ would be highly valued today I feel and after 20 years of inactivity on the site, new renovation plans have emerged. It would be a real shame if the vibrant local businesses, like @pittstskatepark , that have successfully revived the area were now lost like the market stalls and record shops of old. by @m_westb

Buck Moon last night. Named after the growth of a young male deer’s antlers. Had a dip in the sea to celebrate the growth, renewal, strength and vitality this full moon symbolises. I’m not growing antlers but I’m certainly getting older and wiser (and have wisdom teeth that won’t settle down!) I try to keep personal stuff off here, not sure why because I’m realising now that much of my work is built on personal memories, but as some of you know I’ve lost my Dad this summer. The third image is one of his watercolours that we used for his order of service. He was a great Dad and his creativity inspired me. I know he was proud of the artist and man I have become and for me that will always be enough. I feel sure he sent me this lovely evening, spent with family, by the sea as a message to celebrate the fleeting moments and embrace life. I’m trying Dad! I’m trying! X by @m_westb

Lovely blue hour and sunset in Portsmouth last night! 🔵 🌞 by @m_westb

Surrealist Picnic (2025) Opening tomorrow night! 🌊 Join us tomorrow, Thursday, June 25th from 6–9 PM @aspexportsmouth to see this work and many more from the brilliant @vanderhume, @maria_de_la_o_garrido, and @ashleydavidjohn. The show runs all summer until September 6th. Wed-Sun & Bank Holidays, 11 am–4 pm
Free admission. Hope to see some other future Surrealists by the sea! 🌞✨ by @m_westb

Join us me this Thursday 25th June, 6–9pm, for the launch of 2126:What If? @aspexportsmouth 🌞 Here’s a few blurry details of the new work I’ve made for the show, 🧐 come along and see the real thing! Open until 6th September. All welcome 🤗 by @m_westb

1 week to go until the preview of our Summer exhibition, and you’re invited 💌

Join us as we celebrate the opening of 2126: What If?, a new exhibition imagining Portsmouth 100 years from now.

Through immersive installations, playful encounters and speculative futures, artists Maria de la O Garrido, Alice Hume and Matt Westbrook invite us to consider what tomorrow might hold in this thought-provoking exhibition.

You will also have the chance to explore Too Long We Sit, Tongue-Tied, a collection of collages, drawings and text-based pieces responding to social and political themes, by artist Ashley David John, on display in the Craft Space.

Thursday 25 June, 6pm-8pm. Artist networking from 5.30pm.

Tickets are pay what you can (£0-£8). Book on Eventbrite via the link in the bio 🔗

Images:
1. Close-up of black and white collage, Matt Westbrook, 2026
2. Untitled, Maria de la o Garrido, 2026
3. Soil to Cloth, Alice Hume, 2023. Photo: Karl Bailey. by @m_westb

Ideas for Sculpture
(2022- 2025)
175mm x 250mm Collage on Fabriano rosaspina paper on hardwood shelving

Some pieces I make are simple but slight re-presentations of found imagery discovered during the collage making process.

Ideas for Sculpture is an example of this. A selection of three partly recognisiable images of furniture and fixings have been cut, cropped or upturned to create a sequence of imagined objects or landscapes that evoke a change of scale, function and setting.

Shown as part of Matter Out of Place’, an exhibition curated in collaboration with the University of Birmingham’s 2026 MA Art History and Curating Cohort, marking Grand Union’s eighth year working with UoB.

‘Matter Out of Place’ gathers 12 @granduniongallery studio artists who recover the discarded, inviting them to respond to ideas of waste in relation to their own practices and the context they work in. Guided by the assertion that ‘waste is matter out of place’, the exhibition seeks to expand understandings of how the neighbourhood, materiality, and artistic practice shape and subvert understandings of waste and re-use.

Featuring work by Simon and Tom Bloor, Roo Dhissou, Sireen Martin, Joanne Masding, Farwa Moleldina, David Rowan, Sarah Taylor Silverwood, Natasha Taheem, Courtenay Welcome, Matt Westbrook, Stuart Whipps, and Nilupa Yasmin, ‘Matter Out of Place’ invites you to reconsider how we commune with waste.. by @m_westb