Enter Mathew Borrett’s Mystifying Worlds

What happens when you combine architecture with fantasy? Mathew Borrett’s digital cityscapes, perhaps. Working both as an illustrator and an environment/concept artist in the film and TV industry, Borrett is a master of worldbuilding.

His work is the result of his dreams, as well as a lifelong obsession with LEGO, hay forts, and computers. “I hesitate to talk about how much dreams inspire my work, since its almost a cliché and boring to listen to, but it can’t be understated,” he admitted in an interview with Line Gallery. “There’s a kind of magic vitality there that’s almost impossible to put into words, and images can only hint at it. So yes, its possible to read a lot into the work psychologically speaking.”

His digital landscapes are meant to be a combination of creepy and whimsical – a sort of immersive universe that invites the viewer in. “Perhaps this boils down to wanting my drawings to be haunted in the same way that my dreams locales often feel haunted,” remarked Borrett.

“I hope that a viewer will be able to put themselves in my spaces,” he adds. “To that end, I’ve avoided adding any figures of any kind to inhabit the rooms, so the viewer is free to imagine themselves inhabiting them if they choose.”

Take a look inside.