Press Releases

Born 1993 in Wrexham, North Wales, and now based in London, Anya Paintsil works primarily with textiles; the technique of rug-hooking is central to her practice.

In recent work, Paintsil has cast herself and members of her family within the Welsh and Ghanaian folk tales that shaped her upbringing. Blod is an important work from this series, first shown in her 2022 exhibition We Are All Made of You at Ed Cross gallery in London.

Paintsil’s work often explores her dual Welsh and Ghanian heritage, as well as her lived experience as a person of colour growing up in north Wales. Rooted in her upbringing, her work is at once profound and light-hearted, mischievous and political. 

As well as the Mabinogion, Paintsil’s most recent work is influenced by Ghanaian Akan folktales and Fante proverbs. The female figure in Blod, with her long, arching arm and sprinkling of flowers, is a representation of Blodeuwedd, a central character in Math fab Mathonwy, the fourth of the Four Branches of the Mabonogi. Compiled in the 12^th and 13^th centuries from longstanding Welsh oral traditions, the Mabonogion are the earliest prose stories in Britain.

In Blod, whether it is herself or a member of her family, the artist casts a black body within that Welsh folk tradition. Paintsil has spoken about the importance of defining her cultural inheritance on her own terms, positioning herself and her family – along with the Welsh language – in a way that is both deeply personal and political:

“Reclaiming the Welsh language in my work is a way to protect my Welsh identity because so many people throughout my life have questioned it. In their minds, Welshness is homogenously white, but in reality, Wales has one of the oldest Black communities in Europe.”[1]

Drawing on the Welsh term “hiraeth”, describing a homesickness for a place that can never be returned to, Paintsil’s recent work is inspired partly by leaving Wales, as well as by the death of her maternal grandmother – who taught her the rug-hooking technique that has become central to her practice – during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Alice Briggs, Head of Art, Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales, said, 

“We are delighted to have acquired one of Anya’s pieces for the collection. Her work is a celebration of identity, culture and language. Blod has a strong resonance with our existing collection, with the work’s reference to one of the foundational texts of Welsh culture. More than this, however, it is how that culture and history is relevant to the experience of, and is being reshaped by, a new generation of Welsh contemporary artists. “

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Notes to Editors: 

Anya Paintsil 

Blod (2022)

(C) the artist, courtesy of Ed Cross Fine Art

(C) the artist, courtesy of Ed Cross Fine Art