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Shaw was born in Kashmir where he was brought up in a family of carpet makers and Jamevar shawl traders but he has lived in London since the age of 16. His inspirations are diverse: they include Kashmiri shawls, Hieronymous Bosch, Japanese prints, Aubrey Beardsley, and natural history illustrations. Strands from all of these are drawn together here by a fine pencil line, embellished with car spray paint (the swirling patterns are achieved by careful application of a porcupine quill), and with glitter which he ground himself, using a domestic food-processor. His predominant subjects in recent work are metamorphosed creatures - half human, half animal - engaged in curious acts of sexual congress. His work is erotic, playful, and witty, but with an underlying seriousness - his imaginative cross-fertilisation of styles and sources references current concerns about genetic engineering, cloning, and mutations caused by environmental pollution.