At the age of 17, James emigrated with his family to the Netherlands.

His passion for art and design was first awakened when he worked in the hospitality industry, where he started designing menus for a Chinese restaurant. Driven by his interest, he bought his first computer and began to further develop his art for design and design entirely on his own.

So everything James creates started from this passion. He received no training in design or art. He developed his skills as a professional art director and photographer on his own.

To further shape his attention to detail, James started photography in 2005. First in product photography, later followed by culinary photography and later still with model photo shoots

In 2009, James began creating artwork, initially for the hospitality industry and then for galleries and exhibitions.

In 2013 he was chosen from 2100 entries to capture their image of the queen in a painting, sculpture or other cultural expression with 74 other artists.

In this exhibition 'Beeld van Beatrix' in Het Loo Palace in Apeldoorn, his painting in 3D technique, in large format, hung between renowned artists such as Marte Röling and Andy Warhol.

Characteristic of James Chiew's artworks is the combination of analogue techniques (canvas, interior products and materials) and digital techniques (photography and design software). He is always looking for new materials to work with. He combines these materials and thus creates new artwork. In this way, more and more innovative art is created in his work.

James is mainly inspired by the basics of life. He sees no limitations in materials, but always uses the full potential. His motto is: “If you don't like what you see, make it yourself”.