Associate Professor Paul Thomas has been working in the area of electronic arts since 1981, when he co-founded the group Media-Space—part of the first global link-up with artists connected to ARTEX. From 1981-1986 the group was involved in a number of collaborative exhibitions and established a substantial body of research. Thomas has been co-chair of the Transdisciplinary Imaging Conference since 2010, and was the founding Director of the Biennale of Electronic Arts Perth. 

Thomas is a practising electronic artist whose work has been exhibited internationally. He is primarily concerned with the intersection between art, science, industry and culture, and has been working towards developing sustainable research in the areas of convergence between these spheres. Recent works include Multiverse—a video installation exploring quantum light theory and the concept parallel universes. Current research includes Nanoessence, which explores the space between life and death at a nanoparticle level. Nanoessence is part of an ongoing collaboration with the Nanochemistry Research Institute, Curtin University of Technology and SymbioticA at the University of Western Australia. A previous project, Midas, also involved nano-level research in examining the transition phase between skin and gold. Thomas has recently completed working on an 'intelligent architecture' public art project for the Curtin Mineral and Chemistry Research Precinct.

Thomas is the author of Reconfiguring Space: From Perspective to the Virtual (2009), a comparative study of Brunelleschi's perspective peephole device and the virtual reality work of Char Davies. He co-edited with Sean Cubitt the recent Relive: Media Art Histories, and his third book, Nanoart: the Immateriality of Art, was published in 2013 to critical acclaim.