Edward Davies studied sculpture at University of Wales Trinity St David, Coleg Sir Gâr, where he was selected to exhibit at Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff, as part of 'Graduate 2014', a graduate show for emerging artists curated by Sue Williams. Through taking risks, pushing boundaries and embracing the challenges of 'communication', Edward Davies, alongside all the artists exhibiting at the Millennium Centre, revealed a desire to explore and progress heedless to the intimidation of failure. Davies' Links To Slavery powerfully conveys humanity's vulnerability and the mistreatment of humans by others; the bronze cast chain with empty cups acting as a stark reminder of the inherent sense of weight that incurs through enslaving others for imperial growth.
'Edward Davies' work documents how western consumerist nature developed as the British Empire began to expand its control. The use of cast iron draws upon its established history as a material associated with imperial power, and appropriates the inherent sense of weight that comes with its solidity. The reference to slavery and the tea trade materialised from the understanding that by enslaving the actives with imperial rule or shackles, empires created their own societies; this made the colonies a source of supply for imperial growth.'
- Sue Williams, Graduate 2014, exhibition catalogue, 2014