Pure Evil is the alias of Welsh-born graffiti artist and gallery owner Charles Uzzell Edwards.

 

Pure Evil was first exposed to street art while working as a designer in California and was heavily influenced by artists such as Twist and Reminisce, who dominated the West Coast graffiti art scene of the 1990s.

 

Returning to England after a decade in California, Pure Evil became involved in Banksy’s pop-up gallery concept known as “Santa’s Ghetto” and began producing his trademark images of fanged bunnies.

 

Following the success of his first solo show in London, he opened up his eponymous Pure Evil Gallery in a Dickensian shop in the East End of London in 2007. Known for his highly regarded Nightmare series of portraits of famous figures.  Pure Evil's "tear," the striking emblem that pervades his most recent Nightmare series, was inspired by a documentary on Liz Taylor and Richard Burton's relationship. After witnessing the love and hate vacillating between Taylor and Burton and realising that most relationships share this level of tension, the Nightmare series' "tear" was born.

 

His work has been exhibited worldwide at the Saatchi Gallery and Victoria & Albert Museum in London, at the Culture Gallery in Cape Town, South Africa, and at the Baker Gallery in Cologne, among others.