Alix Edwards Glamorgan, United Kingdom

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Alix Edwards is a multi-platform artist who uses fiction, spoken word, painting and photography to tell untold stories about motherhood, loss, domestic violence and resilience. Her work gives a voice to women and children who society has silenced or ignored.

I am a multiplatform artist based in Cardiff Wales. I use photography, painting, writing and spoken word to tell stories about people whose voices would normally be dismissed or forgotten.

In 2019 I was awarded a research and development grant by Arts Council of Wales to research the fate of 'fallen women' in terms of story and psycho-geography, having produced a body of paintings called Foetus Flowers which celebrate the 'shameful' births of babies in Magdalene Laundries.

I am part of the 2022-2023 cohort of writers for Representing Wales funded by Literature Wales. I will be producing a poetry pamphlet, first draft of a novel which shows what it is like to be a survivor of domestic violence and using my experience of facilitating workshops within the community I will be producing a course that inspires others to be creative.

I like to work intuitively. When I paint I often use my hands instead of a brush. I like to paint with my eyes closed, or in the dark so that I can feel the cold, fresh paint on my fingertips, and rhythmically apply it to the canvas. This makes me more attuned to my surroundings: I hear the laughter of a child, a motorcycle driving past, seagulls shrieking in a stream of conscious way as I try to imagine the thoughts of the people I am honouring.

My previous work focuses on giving a voice to to women and children who were not listened to. “WoMen and Men”, Alix’s first solo exhibition at a dedicated gallery space in Wales, explored different aspects of womanhood in the 20th and 21st Century, ranging from being a War Bride at the end of World War II to surviving domestic violence in London. Giant child-like canvases remember 29 children murdered during compulsory contact visits. Timed, candle-lit huge giant paintings, ‘Bodyflows’, re-invigorate MRI scans. Instagram series 104 locks highlights 2 women killed per week in England and Wales by domestic violence. The Show Must Go On exhibited at Waterfront Newport and Praying for Karl celebrate resilience. Fallen, exhibited at g39 in Cardiff explores the etymology of the verb to fall with regard to women with a lifesize woman falling from heaven like a space plunging into the sea and the The Other Side of Sex and On Becoming A Real Woman, recently exhibited at Sexology in Los Angeles challenge society’s double standards when it comes to women and sex.

My current practice looks beyond the suffering and the stories to create a sense of hope and freedom.