Alix Edwards Glamorgan, United Kingdom
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.

Artwork
Projects and exhibitions
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The Show Must Go On art by Alix Edwards25/11/2021 — ongoing This intuitively painted work explores how we continue to cling to a sense of normality when what is around us is falling apart “Using my hands rids the barrier of the 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. I am also... [Read more] |
Riverfront Theatre, Newport | Details |
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OutSide In as part of Finding Home11/10/2021 — 12/10/2021 Alix Edwards has teamed up with Mercury Theatre, Wales to show selected images from her photographic series OutSide as part of Bethan Morgan's new play about homelessness, Finding Home directed by Lynn Hunter. |
Depot, Cardiff | Details |
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Untitled (from Saints, Sinners and Stories: the Magdalene Laundries in Wales)07/03/2020 — 28/03/2020 Part of her archival and psycho-geographic site-based research for Saints, Sinners and Stories. The Magdalene Laundries in Wales (generously sponsored by Arts Council of Wales) these two paintings are an intuitive psycho-geographic response to visiting mother and baby homes in Wrexham, North Wales. They were exhibited as part of Artcore... [Read more] |
Artcore Gallery, Derby | Details |
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Keepsakes27/09/2019 — 02/10/2019 Part of the Women's Arts Association exhibition Keepsakes is a reflection on the Magdalene Laundries: the life of the mother, her child taken away after birth in prison-like conditions of a Magdalene Laundries versus the wealth of the couple who would be adopting the child. |
Llanover House Arts Centre, Cardiff | Details |
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WoMen and Men solo exhibition01/09/2019 — 29/09/2019 |
Cwtsh Gallery, Newport | Details |
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Fallen17/07/2019 — 20/07/2019 Lost babies, broken hearts, stained sheets, severed wings Passed judgements, spoilt apples, tarnished names, washed hands… This altar piece entitled ‘Fallen’ celebrates the etymology of the verb to ‘fall’ with regards to women and explores how everyday words frame our perceptions. Fallen’s multiple meanings include to pass... [Read more] |
g39, Cardiff | Details |
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Foetus Flowers01/06/2019 |
RWCMD Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, Cardiff | Details |
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War Bride24/05/2019 — 09/07/2019 |
FaB2, Bath | Details |
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104 Locks in 201801/01/2018 — 31/12/2018 In 2018 Alix Edwards posted 104 lock images on her Instagram feed, 2 locks every week each Friday, to remind people of the 104 women that are killed each year in England and Wales by a partner or former partner. "As a victim of DV and a justice system that still overlooks it, locks have always been a strong image for me and feature strongly... [Read more] |
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