James Marshall, better known as Dalek, is an American painter best known for his Space Monkey character. He is also known for his photography, murals and illustrations. Marshall was born to a military family in New London, Connecticut and moved around a lot as a kid, finishing high school in Japan then living in Hawaii briefly before returning to the mainland. The artist found his voice and identity in the subcultures of graffiti, punk rock and skateboarding. He earned a BA in Sociology and Anthropology from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1992 and acquired his BFA at the School of the Art Institute in Chicago in 1995. First rendered on a wall in Connecticut in 1995, the Space Monkey that has become synonymous with his name grew and evolved from Marshall’s love for Japanese pop culture, the “vibe” of the punk scene, street art and cartoons. Marshall maintains that the Space Monkey is not a monkey at all, but a mouse—his concept of a human being lost in a growing sea of technology and convenience. Space Monkey became Dalek’s alter ego, a medium through which he expressed his emotions, ideas and concerns. Read More