Born in Cambridge, England in 1964. Jamie Ashman studied Fashion Design at Saint Martins School of Art from 1985 – 1989. Whilst studying in London he became interested in painting as a medium, spending time in the Museums and Art Galleries for inspiration. He has painted ever since. His practice becoming more focused during the recovery period after a mental breakdown in 2008.
His Fashion career was cut short due to the mental breakdown he suffered but experience prior to this included working as a Fashion Assistant at Conran Design Group and Harpers & Queen Magazine and published in sixteen countries of the world as a Trend Predictor of Ski and Denim trends in International Textiles Magazine. Head of Fashion at C.A.T.S for three years and as a Volunteer on the Oxfam Online Shop for seventeen years.
Now, he creates unique and sometimes playful figurative paintings and limited edition iPad prints looking at humanity and evolving blueprints for a better more responsible accountable, caring world. A world that learns from history and improves life on the planet. He weaves in his love of fashion resurrected from the Hippy ethos of ‘Peace and Love’ as a cultural shift, dressed in contemporary style.
He looks at ecological issues, anti war and violence on both local and international levels and creates stories and narratives in his pictures. In a world with too much horror and violence, his practice is about creating beauty and harmony in relation to evolution and humanity. As well as deconstructing gender stereotypes and racial and sexuality prejudices, creating positive role models, he embraces diversity, spreading a message of unity in diversity especially in countries where some LBGTQIA+ identities are not accepted, celebrated but punished.
A bias towards conservation of nature and animals, where humans and animals live in harmony together, where game reserves and fabulous parks and gardens are the norm rather than hunting and killing wild animals. Some of the work looks at Earth as a beautiful flower garden, others refer tobusiness and production and the need to redesign the way we use the earth’s resources. Moving away from mindless consumerism and an over production of goods that can’t be recycled.
He has exhibited and sold in the UK, USA, India,The Netherlands and Sweden with work exhibited as large posters on London Underground, as Cambridge Folk Festival site art, also curating two Art Happenings at Cambridge Museum of Technology with Oblique Arts, Cambridge International Airport, Lotus Land Estates at Aid & Abet Gallery, Carpe Diem Gallery in Goa, Vout – O – Reenee’s Nightclub – London, Sweet’Arts Exhibitions and with various published interviews and work in private collections.
He has donated work to various charity auctions and sales including a Stonewall fundraiser Art Auction, Jimmy’s Night Shelter, Postcards from the edge in NYC, Cambridge Women’s Refuge, RCA – Absolut Secret, Love is NOT an ideology.