Temper, aka Arron Bird, is the pioneer artist who changed the face of graffiti in the UK. Temper picked up a spray can for the first time aged 11. Back then his hands were so small he had to use two fingers to push the nozzle but he immediately knew graffiti was going to change his life. “I can only put it down as parallel to finding God,” describes Temper. “I knew it was going to be with me for the rest of my life … It was going to be my savior.” He wasn’t wrong. Temper’s incredible talent, in particular for realism, changed the public perception of graffiti and what was possible with an aerosol can. During the 90s, Goldie and Temper were some of the first graffiti artists to be paid for their work, and in 1995 Temper created his first canvas series, beginning his transition from concrete to canvas. His big break came in 2001 when he was commissioned by Coca-Cola to design a limited-edition Sprite can. After that, the successes kept coming. The same year he was given a solo exhibition at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, a first for a graffiti artist. The solo exhibition broke a record by attracting 38,000 visitors within the exhibition’s four-week duration. Temper has also painted a wall for Saatchi at their offices in London and has also produced work for Chelsea Football Club. Furthermore, in 2007, Temper became the first graffiti artist to be invited to produce a major piece of public art, called The Cube. In 2008, his collection ‘Post Graphaelite’ sold at £1.4 million, a record for graffiti art in the UK. It was also exhibited at the Royal Whitehall Palace, another first for a graffiti artist. To date, all of Temper’s 28 collections have sold out.