Field Review | Artist Interview Series
In conversation with
Matthew Morpheus
Matthew Morpheus (Serhii Matveichenko) is a Ukrainian visual artist currently based in the United Kingdom.
His practice encompasses digital collage, intricate gel pen drawings, aerosol painting, and mixed media. Morpheus creates symbolically rich works that explore themes of power, illusion, identity, inner transformation, and the human condition.
From:
United Kingdom
Artist Statement
I hear the echo of protests, I see the reflections of revolutions. And every pixel in the collage is the shadows of digital cities. My collages are a path that leads to new freedoms. And every line of the canvas is a struggle, this is a sound, this is an era of change.
I seek inspiration in the mundane and the extraordinary, in fleeting moments and eternal truths.
The interplay of chaos and order, the tension between freedom and constraint – these paradoxes ignite my creativity. And perhaps, most profoundly, it is the human spirit – resilient, fragile, and infinitely complex – that fuels my artistic fire.
Matthew Morpheus is not merely my name; it is my manifesto. I morph reality, distilling it into fragments that resonate with the viewer's own memories. My collages are bridges between past and present, between nostalgia and possibility.
Tell us about yourself and your artistic background.
My name is Matthew Morpheus - I'm a conceptual artist working with multi‑layered graphics, digital collage, and installation. I was raised in Ukraine and later lived in Israel and Germany before moving to Edinburgh, Scotland.
This continuous movement between cultures has shaped the complex, layered visual language that defines my artistic practice.
How would you describe your artistic practice?
My artistic practice examines how emotional and digital realities overlap. Whether through installations, digital collages, or intricate graphics, I explore the same core themes using different visual languages.
Through multi-layered compositions I construct visual systems that reflect the tension between order and chaos, the fluidity of identity, and the fragile boundary between reality and illusion.
What themes or ideas are most important in your work?
The central idea in my work is the concept of Zero Emotion - a deeply hidden inner state formed when all human experiences and feelings intertwine. I believe that a person can show only one emotion on their face, but inside, many different emotions coexist at the same time. Love and hate, desire and fear, calmness and anxiety overlap, collide, and merge into a single core feeling. This inner fusion is what I call Zero Emotion.
My practice explores this multilayered emotional structure - the tension between external stillness and the complex inner world that cannot be expressed directly. At first glance, my works may appear calm or distant, but beneath the surface there is conflict, passion, memory, and unresolved energy. I try to capture that hidden emotional center, the point where all feelings meet and transform into a new state.
Zero Emotion becomes a way to reveal the true architecture of the human psyche - not the emotion we show, but the one that lives beneath it.
What inspires your creative process?
Music inspires my creative process - it opens emotional layers, shapes the mood of each piece, and helps me move toward new visual ideas.
Can you tell us about a recent artwork or project?
I’m working on new hybrid installations that combine digital collage, layered structures, and experimental visual forms. My focus now is on creating deeper, more immersive ways of expressing emotional and spatial states.
What challenges have influenced your development as an artist?
The war in my home country, constant movement, and the ongoing search for identity pushed me to develop resilience and a more flexible artistic language. These experiences reshaped the depth, tone, and direction of my practice, becoming a silent force behind everything I create.
What role does art play in your life today?
Art is how I draw cartographies of the infinite - mapping what the world feels beneath its surface.
What are you currently working on?
As part of the Abandoned Artists collective, we carry out socially important work here in Scotland, creating a space where art supports those who have experienced war and displacement. We gather stories, voices, and personal experiences and turn them into collective projects that help people rediscover themselves and rebuild their creative careers here in the UK.
Of course, we face ongoing challenges - from helping artists adapt to integrating them into a new cultural environment. But the Scottish Government provides significant support, which allows us not only to continue our work but also to contribute to transforming public spaces, making them more open, vibrant, and unique.
What are your future goals as an artist?
I aim to deepen my research into digital metaphysics, expand my international exhibition presence, and develop large‑scale installations that merge physical and virtual space.
Where can readers follow your work?
You can follow my creative journey on Instagram and explore my full portfolio on my website - there’s a lot of exciting work ahead.
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