ABOUT

Robert Matthews is a Perth-based photographer whose practice spans more than fifty years. His work explores themes of perception, memory and the quiet ambiguities of everyday life through carefully observed photographic projects that blur the boundaries between documentation and interpretation. Working in both monochrome and colour, his photographs examine the relationship between people, architecture and light, inviting viewers to look beyond the immediately visible and consider the layered nature of seeing.

Alongside his photographic practice, Matthews has enjoyed a lifelong career in music and education. He studied trombone performance at Indiana University, Bloomington (USA) and performed professionally with Australian orchestras, jazz ensembles and in freelance theatre productions. He also undertook studies in education, teaching and educational administration at Curtin University (Western Australia), together with professional development in education at Harvard University (USA). The disciplines of music, education and photography continue to inform one another in his work, particularly through their shared emphasis on rhythm, structure, observation and thoughtful interpretation.

His photographs have been exhibited internationally, including COLLECTIVE 2025 at the Perth Centre for Photography (Australia), UNSCRIPTED MOMENTS at the Street Photo Festival, Athens School of Fine Arts (Greece), MINIMALISM at Carlotta Gallery (United Kingdom), and SURREAL at the Glasgow Gallery of Photography (United Kingdom) in 2026.

His first four photobooks—Spectral Shift, Persistence of Vision, Echoes of Seeing and Afterimages—were published in 2026.