The contemporary British artist James Dean Diamond's work is critically acclaimed by:

‘Great work’
Banksy | Artist

‘Diamond’s work is very important’
Thomas Joshua Cooper | Artist & Founder of the Glasgow School of Art's Fine Art Photography Department

‘Intriguing work’
Dakis Joannou | Director & Founder of the Deste Foundation

‘It is rare these days to find work as beautiful and powerful as James’s photographs. Absolutely Sublime, and the complex layering of ideas and references provides a depth as rich and velvety as the tones in the photographs. Duane Michals said we have lost our sense of wonder; you work is full of wonder. Thank you.’
Colin Wilson | Photographer & Senior Lecturer B.A Photography, University of Derby

‘A strong installation both conceptually and visually’
The late Christos Joachimedes | Independent curator at the Royal Academy London 

‘The work is very strong, very interesting & very well crafted’
Efi Strousa | President of the Association Internationale des Critiques d’Art – Hellenic Section 

The artworks are collected worldwide by private individuals and available as limited-edition prints, each signed, numbered and dated.

An earlier career as an electronics and mechanical engineer in the UK and the USA led James to embark upon a BA Photography at the London College of Communication, an MA Fine Art from the University of Brighton, and to approach his artwork as a scientific investigation. For 20 years James’s multidisciplinary visual arts practice comprises mesmerising large-scale photographic installations and original composed sound scores – shooting in perennial motion across European cities (London, Paris, Zagreb, Athens, Copenhagen, Malmo and Berlin), the work gives visual expression to the flux of energy, creating environments of ectoplasmic form.

James is the recipient of several prestigious awards, including a 3-year Polaroid Sponsorship Award for Innovation, ‘University of the Arts London Student of the Year’ and Kodak prize. Artworks feature in exhibitions in Europe and New York, as well as reviews in ‘LENSCRATCH’, ‘Elephant’, ‘Creative Boom’, ‘ArtRabbit’, ‘Mount Kimbie/NTS Radio’, ‘Crime, Media & Culture’, ‘Art in America’, ‘Contemporary’ and the ‘British Journal of Photography’. Commissioned by many leading clients, such as the Financial Times, How To Spend It, Harpers & Queen, The Telegraph, Levi’s, Selfridges, BMW, to name a few; his work is supported by The British Council and and Stamos Frissiras of the Frissiras Museum, Athens. Currently based in the UK, James lived and worked in Athens, Greece from 2002 to 2006. 

Curator Samia Ashraf has completed a 4-year Artist Residency with artist James Dean Diamond at the University of Sussex, Baxter Lab, Genome Damage and Stability Centre, School of Life Sciences – an international centre of excellence for research into how DNA is replicated and maintained. Collaborating with the genomic scientists to reflect upon ideas relating to life cycles of damage, mutation and regeneration. Their research project 'Still Points & Sea Beams' has been nominated for the Prix Pictet’s 10th cycle, ‘Human’.

Having trained as an artist at UMASS and Brown University USA, Samia graduated from Central St Martins School of Art & Design with a BA Fine Art Printmaking & Photomedia and an MA in Museum & Gallery Management from City University London. With extensive experience of working across the visual arts, craft and media sector, Samia acts as a Mentor at the Crafts Council, curates a programme of work, as well as support the development of practice for emerging, mid-career and established contemporary artists, makers and photographers. She is also a Business Development Adviser to a leading Photographer/Directors Agent for the UK, European & USA territories.

Samia’s work extends to the research and management of exhibitions, curating widely in the London and Athens, including 'Still Points & Sea Beams' at the Centre of the Cell, Neuron Pod, Blizard Institute London, part of the Open House Festival London, 'Dreaming Of Le Gibet' at the European Commission, London, Art Athina and serves on the committee at Blacks for the visual arts programme for Frieze London 2024. Exhibitions feature in arts media, including Art in America, LENSCRATCH, Financial Times, Elephant, Loupe magazine – the work is in the collections of the European Parliament, members of Tate Modern Acquisitions Committee & members of Yale School of Art and supported by the British Council.

Contributing essays to various publications, Samia coordinates education programmes across broadcast & universities including, a symposium for the critically acclaimed artist Thomas Joshua Cooper at the University of Brighton, MA Fine Art – led a series of guest lectures for the University of Derby, BA Photography and organised/participated in a Christmas Lecture at Ogilvy Health to discuss the intersection of art & science. IntoUniversity, an education charity for disadvantaged young people, invited Samia & James to be the inaugural artist mentors on the Khadija Saye Arts Programme, for which they delivered a masterclass titled, Imagination is a Resource.

Dr. Irene Polinskaya, Reader in Ancient History, Department of Classics & Pro-Vice Dean in Research Culture at Kings College London invited Samia & James to contribute to a symposium of cross-disciplinary perspectives, from History, Religion, Art, and Archaeology, titled ‘PEOPLE AND WATER – ECOLOGIES OF COASTAL WORLDS’.

Samia is the Cultural Programme Advisor for 'Language of the Cell: The Interplay of Art, Music & Science' at the Centre of the Cell, Neuron Pod, Blizard Institute London. The intention is to establish a collective vocabulary across three seemingly distinct disciplines – where art and music explore the most impenetrable of modern sciences.

An evening of multi-modal exhibition, stimulating talks and panel discussions with diverse perspectives from leading figures in their fields, including the Director of the Centre of the Cell, Professor Frances Balkwill OBE, molecular biologist Jon Baxter, artist James Dean Diamond and curator Samia Ashraf – whose research project was nominated for the Prix Pictet’s 10th cycle, ‘Human’ – Milton Mermikides, Gresham Professor of Music, and Tim Flach, photographer and Senior Research Fellow at Oxford University’s Centre for Eudaimonia and Human Flourishing.

Ideas relating to ‘revealing the invisible’ are considered, and the event comprises a dynamic biomolecular world, ‘Still Points & Sea Beams’, an 8-minute motion piece by James commissioned for the Neuron Pod at the Centre of the Cell, and three new sonification works by Milton who translates Jon’s DNA research, James’s lens-based practice and photographer Tim’s animal portraiture into sound, revealing the hidden music of the biological world.   

Cultural Programme
Language of the Cell: The Interplay of Art, Music & Science
Motion Piece 'Still Points & Sea Beams' a biomolecular world by artist James Dean Diamond 
Fields of Fiction talk by Dr Jon Baxter, James Dean Diamond and curator Samia Ashraf 
Listening to the Cell: The music of science - Three new musical works by Milton Mermikides, Gresham Professor of Music   
Who's Upside Down: Us or the bats? Talk by Tim Flach photographer & Senior Research Fellow at Oxford University’s Centre for Eudaimonia & Human Flourishing

Thanks to Graham Black, Clare Carolan, Bushra Munib Dar, Jon Drake, Kim Fielding, Georg Georgakopoulos, Dimitris Georgakopoulos, Conall Gleeson, David Gluck, Vassilis Grigoropoulos, Annie Hooton, Charlie Hooker, Christopher Humphrys, Catherine Jarvie, Colin Jarvie, Fotini Kapiris, Den Odell, Jeremy O’Sullivan, Searle Kochberg, Denis Kovac, Sue Norton, Jeremy Maker, Max Mezzowave, Mike Peel, Vicki Reeve, Juliette Seibold, Paul Smith, Rosalind Tomlin, Karl Tomlin, Alison Weedall, Claire Williams, Colourstream, Spectrum Photographic & The Vault Imaging