Alexander Edwards

Thank you to all who came to the opening and who have visited the exhibition so far.

About 450 people visited the gallery on opening night. If any of you were there or have been to the gallery you’ll understand how insane it was at times. Often my space was packed and there was a steady flow of friends and family to greet as well as another steady flow of people I didn’t know giving me wonderful feedback about my work.

Much of the feedback has mirrored the feedback that the images gained while they were on Redbubble. That people really related to the story of each piece. Though some reacted more strongly than others. The highlight for a friend was seeing someone with their friends suddenly react to a piece of mine by declaring “My girlfriend farted on my leg the other night!”. It seems she didn’t realise that she’d said it out loud as she turned red and hurried from the room leaving her friends behind.

I also found it interesting that people had trouble believing that I was a) a man and b) single. A few people expressed their surprise that I was a man capable of such sensitivity and understanding of intimacy. However many more people started conversations with my by saying how wonderful my relationship must be or how lucky my boyfriend must be to have such a sensitive partner. To which I promptly corrected them – which usually had the effect of killing the conversation. I have to say I found this odd at the time. I had thought about what questions I might be asked and what answers I might give. Especially about the source of the thoughts written on the bodies. But I wasn’t expecting people to make assumptions about who I am as a person or what my life is like just based on the images.

The other thing I felt uncomfortable about were fans. I’m not suggesting that the people I met will follow my career until the end, but just that while talking to me they were a bit starry-eyed with wonder and were hanging off my every word. I was in the gallery again today and the guy I was chatting to just seemed like he wanted the conversation to go on forever.

Lastly, I have had my first gallery sale. While I appreciate the money and the recognition, what I have enjoyed most out of that experience was the person who bought it emailing me and explaining that what I had done had really touched him. And that he had bought the piece to give as a Valentine’s present for his partner. Because, to be honest, I am sick of seeing them. I have for the most part completed my journey with the concept and the pieces, but his enthusiasm after looking at the piece with fresh eyes has helped me re-establish a worth in the work that I think I had forgotten sometime after they’d gone up on the wall.