A graduate of Central St Martinâs and the Royal College of Art, James Seow draws on his ancestral roots and the beauty of the natural world to create stunning fantastical landscapes. Third generation Chinese, he was born in Malaysia where grew up before relocating to London, where he now resides. For James, itâs his hybrid Malaysian and British identity that has inspired themes of architecture and nature in his work. His upbringing in Malaysia during the 1990s saw him witness a huge transformation of the country through mass deforestation and urban planning, which has clearly contributed to his focus on natureâs relationship with urban life. Often using public squares, parks and gardens to demonstrate human attempts to impose order on natural forces, a running theme in Seowâs work is to depict constant struggles between the natural and the artificial, often observing cultural, socio-political and environmental issues in the process.
