Gary Hume was born in 1962, in Kent. He started work as an assistant film editor before concentrating on studying art. He graduated from Goldsmiths College in 1988 and took part in the seminal Freeze exhibition curated by Damien Hirst, thus becoming part of the generation of young British artists that emerged in the 1990s. His work was included the infamous YBA sensation exhibition at the Royal Academy in 1997. He was a Turner Prize nominee in 1996, he represented Britain at the Venice Biennale in 1999, and was elected a Royal Academician in 2001.

Gary Hume's treatment of the panda for Pandamonium 1 illustrates how nature and wildlife is intrinsically linked and the balance of survival within the ecosystem is a delicate one. The panda’s structure gives way to painted flowers that envelope the panda, smothering it and taking over its space: its black eyes and nose peer out poignantly as all its distinguishing markings fade to white. Hume’s panda balances precariously on its own pedestal.