Born in London, Ben Eine is one of the most successful street artists in the world and is regarded as a pioneer in the exploration of graffitti letterforms. Originally a writer, Eine started his career over 25 years ago, leaving his first tag all over London before developing his distinct typographic style. Eine’s aim was to point out that street art is distinct from graffiti. He believed “street artists want to add something to the environment. They consider the audience, whereas graffiti writers don’t care about anyone except themselves, they do it purely for the kick”. Eine's bright and colourful letters were created to stand out from the usual tags and dubs seen on the streets and can still be found in areas of East London. These letters appear on shop shutters and often spell whole words across walls. Eine first came to prominence in the “commercial” graffiti scene through his symbiotic partnership with London graffiti artist Banksy. In 2010 the UK Prime Minister David Cameron gifted his artwork to President Obama, while a particular area of the East End was named ‘Alphabet City’ after his colourful array of shopfront ‘shutter art’. Currently Ben Eine’s work is held in the permanent collections of the V&A, London, The Museum of Modern Art, Los Angeles and galleries worldwide, while his street art works can be seen all over the world, most recently he completed a huge mural on the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi.
