World famous street artist Pure Evil has visited the city for a talk and Q&A with contemporary art fans at Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery.
The evening event (Friday April 1) was part of the Urban art exhibition currently on show in the city until May 29. It features his work as well as pieces by Banksy, Damien Hirst, My Dog Sighs – who also came to Peterborough to give a talk – as well as Blek Le Rat, Kaws, Damien Hirst and several other prominent artists.
Pep Cipriano was there for ESP as Pure Evil – aka Charles Uzzell Edwards – chatted to the audience about his work and answered questions afterwards.
Pep said: “Pure Evil was pure gold for street art lovers like me. He told us the story of how he got into street art during his time in California. He initially went to the Sunshine Coast to get away from the madness in London during the time of Poll Tax demonstrations and ended up staying for 10 years!
“He was influenced by the street art scene in San Francisco and once he returned to the UK, he noticed street art stencilling and did his own thing that eventually led to artist collaborations and his own studio.
“He was an interesting guy and I reckon he recognised my ‘talent’ when I signed his doodle montage.”
The artist’s dripping tear celebrity portraits have taken him around the world, and there are currently several pieces on display in Peterborough Museum, including the image of Shakespeare, originally painted on a shed!
“I think we’ve all got sadness in our lives, we don’t maybe put it up on our socials but it’s there, so it kind of signifies that,” he explained. “We all have our sadness in our stories and I’m sure Shakespeare probably had a couple of things that went on in his life that made him sad, but that’s probably good for us because he’s got all these amazing tragic plays.”
The Urban exhibition in the Peterborough gallery celebrates the rise and rise of the street artist and Pure Evil told us the current street art scene is bigger than ever.
“I think it’s booming. We always talked about, ‘would it be a global art movement’, and it’s definitely a global art movement. It’s everywhere and right now there’s probably someone putting down their street art book and going out into the street and putting up a stencil for the first time. So it’s a viral thing I can see continuing and continuing.”
Don’t miss your chance to see some of this fantastic art while it’s here in Peterborough, the Urban exhibition is on show until May 29.
You can also enjoy a break in the café which has been given an amazing street art makeover by our home grown talent, Street Arts Hire.