Bedwyr Williams (St. Asaph, Wales, 1974) is living and working in Wales, after having studied amongst others at Ateliers in Arnhem. He attracted attention when he participated in the Biennale in Venice in 2005 and because of his nomination for the Beck's Futures prize in 2006. In 2008 he had a solo exhibition at STORE Gallery in London.
Bedwyr Williams' work consists of performances and stand-up comedy, installations, sculptures, paintings and photos. In the autumn of 2008, in Hotel Mariakapel in Hoorn, he participated in the group exhibition I Am Comedy/We Are Comedy with the performance 'Methodist to my Madness'. The same performance, this time recorded in his studio, has been included on video in The Bakery, surrounded by small sculptural works. 'Methodist to my Madness' is about the process of a performance, from beginning to end: from the invitation of the curator to dressing at the office of the gallery afterwards.
About the importance of costumes Bedwyr Williams says: 'When I perform I always choose a costume that I would feel comfortable wearing. If I had to make an escape in the catastrophic event of a bomb blast or an earthquake. An outfit that I would be happy to be rescued in. Those souls who perform naked and covered in paint run the risk of being found by a fireman or a policeman or even an earthquake dog under the rubble naked and covered in paint.' He appears as a Methodist preacher, freely based on Christmas Evans, an eighteen-century one-eyed preacher from Wales. Raised in a religious family, the church services were the first 'performances' the artist saw. The theatrics of the frightening disciplinary sermons were Bedwyr Williams' inspiration for this installation.
