Andrew Parker began his career as an artist and a scientist, two callings he united through his fascination with, and heightened sense of, color. As a PhD student in the 1990s, he examined tiny marine animals famous for their nocturnal bioluminescent light displays. Working at the Los Angeles County Museum, Andrew discovered that some of these animals exhibited another type of light display – iridescence, or structural color. From tiny body parts, colorless surfaces containing microscopic structures reflected mesmerizing blues and greens. And that architecture was new to biology.

Andrew began to identify micro-architectures in animals and plants that produced a type of structural color with an ultra-bright yet velvety hue, like those of the Californian hummingbirds. Andrew found that in many of these cases, the general principles of light reflection were the same, and he sought to reproduce them himself in his lab and studio.

After many years of experimentation, Andrew succeeded in making this color using industrial machines in conventional manufacturing works. The same deep, luxurious yet intense color effect as seen on a Morpho butterfly's wing or a peacock's neck plumage sprung from workshops in a complete spectrum of hues. This could be considered the world's brightest coloration, and became known as Pure Structural Colour®.

In 2015, Professor Parker founded his lab and studio Lifescaped with the outstanding support of King Charles III. Through Lifescaped, Professor Andrew continuously researches the intersections between science, art, and design, focusing on bio-inspiration. 

As an artist, Andrew Parker has developed a vast body of work inspired by nature, evolutionary events, and the developmental processes of bodies. His scientific background goes hand in hand with his artistic development. After his discoveries with Pure Structural Colour, he began using it in his artistic creations to replace standard pigments.

In 2021, Andrew Parker exhibited his artistic work and Pure Structural Colour® at KEW Gardens in London, one of the greatest botanical gardens in the world. The exhibition, entitled Naturally Brilliant Colour, showcased Andrew's cutting-edge technology in a gallery setting for the first time and was highly appreciated by the general public and critics.