James Shaw is an explorer of the material landscape with a hands on approach. His work aims to interrogate the material, systemic and formal approaches to the creation of objects. Frequently his work considers the resources around us challenging the notion of ‘waste’ to create new beautiful materials. Waste plastic has been a key theme of his work both through his ongoing Plastic Baroque project and notably in the exhibition Plastic Scene he co-curated with Laura Housely in 2018, which was named ‘the standout show of LDF’ by the New York Times.
James has exhibited internationally including at The Design Museum, The V&A, Boijmans van Beuningen Museum and MOMA. Past awards include being nominated for the Design Museum Designs of the Year Award and winning the Arc Chair Design Award. His work is in the permanent collections of MoMA, The Montreal Museum of Art and the Vitra Design Museum among others.