Biography

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 art and the contemporary, using digital techniques and modern visual language to interrogate these connections.

The relationship between nature and urban life is a key focus in Seow’s practice. His work is informed by his early life experience, witnessing the huge transformation of Malaysia through its massive deforestation and urban planning policies of the 90s. Seow plays with how ideals of universal equality and harmony can be communicated, often drawing on the imagery of parks and gardens, illustrating the dichotomy between constructed environments and the ephemerality of the natural world. Working with the interplay between the natural and the artificial, the rational and the instinctive, he encourages a critical rethinking of contemporary reality.

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.