About

I was ten years old when I saw “Beat Street”. To this day, I have never been able to describe the impact that movie had on me (not with words, that is) but I can, however, tell about the consequences… Those 105 minutes did not only introduce me to the art of graffiti, they made graffiti a part of my life.

Graffiti entered my native Gothenburg in 1984. Two years later, I wrote my first piece.  Influenced by local Gothenburg writers, such as MOAN, LEE, LEY, ZAC, QSL, REX, ZICY and SAN, and later by writers like DWANE, CAS CADE, CRAZ, WANDA, CREAM, I set out to find my own expression.

At that time, the best graffiti in Gothenburg was always written in secluded, hidden places. That never stopped me from searching. Like treasure hunters, me and my childhood friend Lukas, scanned the outskirts of the city. Our effort (no matter how hard) meant nothing in comparison with the kick we got from finding a good piece. We just sat in front of it and sucked in the cloud of inspiration it projected into our adolescent minds.

After a couple of years of sketching and experimenting (DAREK, CENDO, DARYL) I found myself repeatedly writing BRAVE, and it became my fixed name. This was back in 1991 and I had just turned sixteen. I did my pieces in several parts of the city but also in my own neighborhood, Bergsjön, a housing project neighborhood, situated in the outskirts of the city centre.

I kept experimenting with names (SPACE, HYPER, PINK and RAMSE) until 1994, when I became RUBIN. Around that time I had also started to do a lot of commission work, mainly for retail stores and organizations such as Greenpeace. I also participated in debates on Swedish television, arguing for more legal walls and against the zero-tolerance attitude concerning graffiti, which has always dominated Sweden. That same year, I also met JUST ONE, who´s been my “partner in crime” ever since.

And as I did my first post-hiatus piece, all my demons of doubt mixed with the paint and drizzled into the wall. That very piece reminded me that my best work isn´t in the rear view mirror, but ahead of me...

Rubin

The years between 1994-1998 mark my most active period. In 1995 alone, I did more than 150 pieces. I’ve always been a lot in music too and In the late 90’s I started a new band called Kingston Air Force. Between my regular job and my band (we toured pretty extensively after putting out our debut album) there was no time to write graffiti actively, and I decided to take a little brake from writing. What I hadn´t planned, though, was that the hiatus would last for so long: between the years 1999-2007 I only did a handful of pieces.

But little did I know, that it would be Beat Street (or the city from which it originates) that would draw me in again. I had spent more and more time in New York, as my wife Sanna who´s a journalist, occasionally works there. I had the itch and the city inspired me to go back to doing what I love most.

Long before my hiatus ended in 2007, I had started to sketch again. Mainly to refine my technique and to develop my style. For years I had already sensed the ribbed cap under my index finger, but only in my mind. And as I did my first post-hiatus piece, all my demons of doubt mixed with the paint and drizzled into the wall. That very piece reminded me that my best work isn´t in the rear view mirror, but ahead of me.

/ Rubin
June 5th, 2009