James Kingman
James Kingman’s work explores the emotional residue of memory. These are the fragments of light, lyric, and longing that never quite leave us. Now based in Margate, his practice is rooted in the rhythms of coastal life: shifting tides, bold skies, and that peculiar mix of melancholy and magic you only get from a British seaside town.
His compositions unfold through layered processes that merge digital and traditional techniques. Spray paint, screen printing, hand-drawn halftones and lo-fi textures combine to create works that are both tactile and luminous. There’s a deliberate push and pull at play between spontaneity and control, analogue and digital, reverence and rebellion.
Drawing heavily on music, nostalgia and personal memory, Kingman’s visual language is populated by borrowed and invented lyrics, evocative typography and recurring symbols from the natural world. Sunsets, sea horizons and reflections on water act as emotional vessels, inviting the viewer to find their own meaning within the work.
In his latest body of work, Wish You Were Here (2025), Kingman explores the emotional terrain of coastal living and familial memory. Developed after relocating to Margate, the series weaves together shared moments with his late mother, creative muses and his relationship with nature. These works hold space for connection, grief and joy, often all at once.
Though deeply personal, the works never feel closed. They offer space for your memories, your meanings and your stories.
