Acclaimed British artist Paul McGowan has marked the start of an exciting new residency at Eden by ascended with his paintings in Eden's Mediterranean Biome.

The world-renowned Eden Project in Cornwall is delighted to announce its inaugural exhibition as part of a new arts-led approach to heighten public engagement on environmental and social issues.

The show, Living on the Edge by acclaimed British artist Paul McGowan, will be housed in the spectacular surroundings of the Mediterranean Biome from August 8.

The exhibition, McGowan's first major show in six years, is part of a 12 month residency and is entirely inspired by the Eden Project.

The first installation features two huge paintings suspended from the Biome's roof structure and twelve new works on easels, all reflecting the notion of a species living on the edge; their existence controlled and defined by mankind.

Wildlife paintings will be interspersed with abstract mask paintings which are pieced together from anatomical elements of extinct or endangered animals.

The work will illuminate key Eden concepts: namely to remind people what nature gives us, and to help people learn how to look after it in return.

McGowan explains his ethos behind his work: "The mask paintings are very sensitive in the way they portray our anguish. By painting the masks in a very minimal but aggressive manner, I was attempting to infuse the direct power of raw tribal art with a sense of contemporary graffiti. I want people to find their own way around and I want people to find something profound."

Heralding the show as a major event for Eden, creative director Peter Hampel said today: "We intend to develop a new language at Eden, capable of engaging the public in an intuitive and personal way with new and established artists to spearhead a cultural shift in our collective response to the big challenges of the 21st century.

"To have an artist of Paul's calibre engaging with Eden in this way is incredibly exciting and will add to the richness of the experience for our huge cross section of visitors."

Born in 1967 and brought up in Margate, Kent, McGowan left school at 15 with no qualifications.

After serving with the Parachute Regiment he worked as a successful fashion designer in London, later becoming the youngest ever fashion designer to have sold a collection at the prestigious London fashion house Browns, at just twenty years old.

He had his first major show at the Salthouse Gallery in St Ives in 1996 whilst still a student in his first year at Falmouth School of Art.