Pure Evil, AKA Charles Uzzell Edwards, was born in South Wales in 1968. Taking his moniker from shooting a rabbit aged 10 and the consequent guilt, ideas of the macabre and rebellion have been ever-present in his work. He is best-known for his prints of tragic celebrities, created in a heavily street art and graffiti-influenced style.
The artist’s father, John Uzzell Edwards, raised Charles in an art-loving environment - being a painter himself. Growing up in rural Wales wasn’t conducive to the New Romantic lifestyle the fashion-obsessed teenage Uzzell Edwards wished to live. And so the artist went to London to do a fashion degree and earn a fashion degree. Following the 1990 Poll Tax Riots, the artist chose to leave London to visit California and what was meant to be a two-week trip resulted in a ten year stay in San Francisco. In the states, Uzzell Edwards worked for the ANARCHIC ADJUSTMENT streetwear brand and dived into the music, skateboarding, and art scene there. On his return to Britain, the USA’s street art culture and designs stayed with him and influenced his bunny character tag which popped up everywhere around London.
Uzzell Edwards opened the first Pure Evil Gallery in Shoreditch in 2007, and a second larger space six years later. Pure Evil’s most successful series - dripping celebrity portraits - have been purchased and displayed around the world, from Hong Kong to Brazil, Mongolia to Norway. These depictions of idolised characters weeping a lone heavy tear make us question the foundations of fame and modern celebrity culture.
Andy Warhol
Sandra Blow
Tabitha Soren
Patrick Hughes
Day Bowman
Nelson Makamo
Takashi Murakami
Daisy Cook
Fred Ingrams
Barbara Rae
Bruce Mclean
Tracey Emin
