Somewhere between the 1535 execution of Sir Thomas More and the year 2000, Charles Uzzell Edwards became the street artist known as Pure Evil. It’s a pairing of an odd lineage that has produced fanged bunnies and Warhol-esque portraiture famous throughout the streets and galleries of the world.

A child of Contemporary London and Silicon Valley era San Francisco, his art of primarily modern icons expresses both biographical signature and western culture critique. His pop culture symbols are sprayed across urban and gallery walls from Sao Paulo to Sydney. It’s the artistic and commercial success that has allowed his London gallery to host shows for more than 60 independent artists.

Pure Evil was born Charles Uzzell Edwards in South Wales in 1968. He grew up in a world of art thanks to his father, Welsh painter John Uzzell Edwards . The father’s artwork undoubtedly impacted his son, demonstrated in a range of influences from Cubism to Minimalism, from Picasso to Chagall.

The physical and cultural landscape of the 1990’s U.S. intrigued and beckoned the young Pure Evil, and upon completing his studies in graphics and fashion in London he picked up his skateboard and set off for California’s West Coast. He established himself in San Francisco, working for the Anarchic Adjustment clothing label as a clothing designer / pattern cutter / graphic designer. He produced countless t-shirt graphics for screen printing, dropped in on the West Coast rave scene, and travelled to Japan where West Coast Streetwear was a hot item. Pure Evil also became involved in the musical fabric of San Francisco and DJ'ed and was an electronic recording artist for Pete Namlook’s ambient electronic music label, FAX (based in Frankfurt, Germany).