Capturing A Creative Explosion...Pure Evil on the King's Road, June 23 – August 7th

Proud Chelsea have this week announced Pure Evil on the Kings Road, an exhibition of original artworks by leading British street artist Pure Evil. This collection explores the cultural history of the infamous Kings Road, documenting icons of the swinging sixties, all of which played their part in London’s creative explosion.

Charles Uzzell-Edwards, better known as Pure Evil, takes inspiration from 60s icons with Warhol-esque portraits of Mick Jagger, Twiggy and Jane Birkin showcasing doomed and dripping portraits. These pieces feature his trademark 'tear' emblem which justifies his artistic excursions into the darker side of people and their social ills. This amalgamation of humour, art and malevolence is captured throughout this portrait of the Kings Road. From the early 1960s, Chelsea was a hubbub of creative activity and the epicenter of Swinging London. It was frequented by a large community of literary figures and artists, moving through the 70s and 80s with the birth of the British punk movement and the opening of Vivienne Westwood's infamous ‘SEX’ shop alongside husband Malcolm McLaren.

Pure Evil fell into the group behind Banksy’s “Santas Ghetto” and started producing dark new prints and artwork, a style which has cemented the artist as a fearless image maker extraordinaire. When asked why these icons are crying, he has said “It’s an illustration of the heartbreak and sadness we have all experienced in relationships in the past.” To understand a bit about Pure Evil it is illuminating to know that he is a descendant of Sir Thomas Moore, the Lord Chancellor who wrote the controversial work Utopia and who was later beheaded by King Henry VIII. With this background it is only natural that Pure Evil should explore the darker side of the wreckage of Utopian dreams and the myth of the Apocalypse, a belief in the life-changing event that brings history with all its conflicts to an end.

In this never before seen exhibition, Proud Chelsea will celebrate the cultural importance and significance of street art, whilst revealing Pure Evil’s trademark tongue in cheek style of contemporary art which has since inspired a cult following. This exhibition will revisit the creative contemporaries who made the Kings Road legendary and commemorate Pure Evil’s unique street art sensibility that is admired and collected globally.

Pure Evil on the King's Road

23rd June – 7th August

Monday to Saturday: 10am till 7pm

Sunday 10am till 6pm

Proud Chelsea

161 King’s Road

London

SW3 5XP

www.proud.co.uk