Matt Johnstone’s Inspiration: Eel And Mash To Babies Of The Future

Matt Johnstone’s detailed panoramas are currently on display in windows, on walls, and within the pages of magazines in form of murals, conveying his singular perspective on a given place and time. His recent Hoxton Window Project, a commission by London production company Unit9, seized on a particular set of English idiosyncrasies and cuisine: “My idea was inspired by cycling down Regent’s Canal to my studio in East London. I remember seeing a bird struggling to eat an eel and was surprised how tough the eel was—it wriggled out of the heron’s throat! My artwork was a bright, bold, and playful world based on traditional East London food; eel, pie, and mash.”

Meanwhile, Matt was designing something more practical for the interior of Biolumina’s office, where he and artist Nice Farrell painted an infographic of company-wide creative processes that ultimately “explodes with color” as the mural progresses through space. Other recent work includes an illustration for Popular Science Magazine about pregnancy and humans’ unique capacity for nurturing our young. Moving through human history (past, present, and future) in the span of a page, Matt packed his baby-centric scene with details, including a cameo of himself and his two daughters.