Chris Swain

Born in 1977 on Earth, raised by monkeys till the age of four before coming to London to become a shaman's apprentice, Chris Swain is a painter currently living and breathing in Yorkshire.

Currently working on series of works called The Anthropocene Series that deals with a number of environmental concerns in the form of bold wildlife portraits.

"My work often starts with a memory, of an intense experience or emotion, distilled and filtered over time and condensed into a singular image.

Each painting I make, is an attempt to capture something fleeting and contain it, so it can't float away.

I am interested in the essence and energy of an experience, memory, thought or feeling I have had, many of these paintings live in my head for a long time.

I suppose I am exploring my memory's process of recording the essence of an experience; collecting all the sensory information, and condensing this into a singularity, a preserved moment, which I then try to paint.

I can never fully recreate these memories as they exist in my head, but I am compelled to keep trying.

I am intrigued by the nature of memory and it's influence on my perception of reality.

I don't want to forget. I have always collected mementos and tokens to remind me of...

Schooled in London and holding a BA Hons in Public Art, Chris Swain has lived and worked in Amsterdam and in the Yucatan in Mexico as well as London and Yorkshire, painting commissions for private collectors, exhibitions and street art projects.

Two recent exhibitions at the D31 Gallery