Jonathan Kingdon grew up in Tanzania where he was born in 1935.
Bridging both Arts and sciences, his works spans from extraordinary draftsmanship, sculpture and painting to the inventive writing of scientific books. He is a writer of zoology, anthropology and biogeography and is probably best known for his magnum opus, East African Mammal;, an atlas of evolution in Africa which is celebrated as a ‘Leonardo like exploration of science with an artist’s eye’.
Kingdon’s painting and sculpture often derive from elaborations of nature’s signals. The way in which optical effects are elaborated by fish, birds or monkeys have been fruitful sources of imagery in his work as well as providing him with a unique cross-over between his prime interests in the two disciplines.
Kingdon’s exhibition at Gallery Pangolin Pinstripes and Polka dots focussed on just this kind of visual feast displaying incisive pencil observations alongside bold and vibrant colour graphics.