REVOK: “For me, graffiti belongs in the street.”

I've painted graffiti for about 37 years without a break, except for jail. Each time I got out, I painted again. I never wanted to stop, but after so long graffiti can't feel as new as it did in childhood. Studio work gives me another outlet, so I enjoy graffiti again when I return to it.

Los Angeles shaped me most. I admired New York graffiti, but with little access to images or information, my real influence was the LA scene: the work, the writers and their stories. For a young person, every detail felt larger than life.

I never wanted to simply reproduce graffiti on canvas. FOR ME, GRAFFITI BELONGS IN THE STREET. Legal walls can be fun. The essence is going out into the city and painting somewhere you are not supposed to. My studio work has a different language and a different purpose.

I had to leave Los Angeles because of the legal situation, but I was also starting to think about something different creatively. Detroit gave me the space to develop a new visual language outside of graffiti.

I leave that to others to decide. I just do what excites me and feels right. I use abstraction because it allows different interpretations, and viewers bring their own memories and associations.