James Seow was born in Malaysia and has resided in the UK since moving there in the late 90s.  He received an MA in Printmaking from the Royal College of Art in 2014, where he developed work across a range of media and techniques, including print, photography, sculpture and installation. He explores connections between traditional Eastern, Western art and the contemporary, using digital techniques and modern visual language to interrogate these connections.

A recent project, ‘Invasive Species’, visualises a mythical, naturalistic space that balances reality and illusion through an East-West viewpoint that questions the perspective of one’s imagination, whilst referencing Old Master still-life paintings and their interest in hierarchy, symbolism and aesthetics.

Through the process of scanning, groups of weeds and insect specimens are digitally presented in a state of natural disarray. Each growth is clearly identifiable alongside the insects that accompany and feed on it. Incorporating delicate taxidermy insects, they rest in multiples layers to radically democratise their associated cultural values. It evokes entomological studies and the existing hierarchy of organisms based on aesthetic ideas of beauty and value.

Seow’s work has been exhibited internationally and is in various private collections including Central Saint Martins School of Art and Design, Royal College of Art, Brookfield Asset Management Inc. and St. James, Berkeley Group, UK.