Temper was born with a crayon in his hand. Later, spray cans replaced his crayons and Temper's 'tag' could be seen around Wolverhampton, England. He was discovered in 1997 and started getting paid for his graffiti. He even got his tag on 50 million Sprite cans in the UK.
In 1993, Temper started his own company, BMC (Blind Mice Clothing) and sold printed T-shirts but he wanted to be a professional graffiti artist. In '96, he hosted his own solo gallery "Footsteps" in Wolverhampton. "This was a turning point for me," he says. "With Footsteps, I was able to experiment with other mediums apart from the spray world and I was able to spend more time on each painting." Over 3,000 people showed up for Temper's exhibit. At the same time, he also began work with UK's hip-hop label, The Jeap Beat Collection, and has done six album covers so far, including one for Jimi Hendrix.
They don't teach you graffiti in art class and a lot of people don't even consider it art. Of course graffiti is art, says Temper. "We do the same as any contemporary artist. We paint, we express our emotions but we are the true story tellers of our era because we reflect what is happening on the streets." Temper also says, "It's not about one kind of art being 'better' than another. Graf artists create positive, colorful, meaningful paintings. It's a soulful art form and should be treated with the same respect as other forms of art."
Temper's Sprite cans, tagged with a woman and a man, are limited edition cans and bottles which were available across the UK for four months. They were part of the ongoing campaign to support street culture and inspired by the success of the Sprite Urban Games - UK's largest playing field for street lifestyle and sports.
Related Stories:
