Artist Bio

Richard William Purvis was born in the UK and raised in Clevedon, North Somerset. A curious and creative soul, Richard gravitated towards creative work, pursuing his BA in Media Arts from Royal Holloway University of London, and his MA in Anthropology of Media from the SOAS University of London.

After stints living in South Korea, Japan and Scotland, Richard settled in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, with his wife, Kim, and their rescue pup, Mia. It was in Canada that the concept of Zarvis Art began to take life, and Richard's vision of creating visual averages from ordinary photos taken from 2004 to 2022.

In 2021, Richard was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma, and ultimately passed away on December 18, 2022, after 20-month battle with this aggressive form of cancer. However, his creative spirit continues to lives on in his final project, Zarvis Art.