“I’m not really interested in being subtle. I want to make people look; I welcome the conflict.” Pure Evil

Charles Uzzell Edwards confesses that having ‘Pure Evil’ as a nickname is very much tongue-in-cheek, but it gives him a license to have fun with more sinister imagery. Often taking iconic images, and cult figures he uses stencils and spray paint to add his unique ‘evil’ addition popularised in his “Nightmare” series. His repetition of a theme and production of images in multiple variations has led him to become something of a modern day Andy Warhol.

Appearing on The Apprentice (BBC) and Four Rooms (Channel 4) has led to a huge increase in interest for his work. As a descendant of Sir Thomas More, the son of well known Welsh painter John Uzzell Edwards, and an ancestry alleged to include eight saints, Pure Evil has always been surrounded by art and artists.

Born in South Wales and having studied fashion and graphics in London, Pure Evil spent the next ten years living in California.  On his return he became involved with Banksy’s ‘Santa’s Ghetto’ and began producing new artwork exploring the darker side of life and has since exhibited worldwide.

Often politically driven, he believes painting on walls is a good way to get his message across in a big way. Many of Pure Evil’s creations confront the darker themes in society. According to Pure Evil, the street art movement is trying to discuss politics, consumerism and society in the same manner as pop art did in the sixties.

Pure Evil prints are fingerprint authenticated on the back of each piece, with his mark easy to identify as he has a scar on the finger used. He opened his own ‘Pure Evil’ Gallery in Shoreditch in 2007 and currently lives in Hackney with his wife, also an artist, and daughter, Bunny.