Graffiti

Keeper of the Realms & 'Who is Charlie Keeper?' Graffiti

Over the years Keeper of the Realms has attracted a fan following of graffiti artists. The original self-published version of Puffin’s ‘Crow’s Revenge’ titled ‘Who is Charlie Keeper?’ received attention from the Corrupt Government Crew and other unknown artists. Since that period Keeper of the Realms has consistently had a mixed following of artists using varied approaches from spray paint to sticker art.

“My singing is atrocious. I’m embarrassed to admit that when I try to sing in the shower my wife has a tendency to kick down the door and slap me (admittedly, not a good look.) Unfortunately my talent for art is as lacklustre as my singing. So while my lack of skill means I could never be a graffiti artist I still love the flavour, the style and above all the creativity applied to the scene. Graffiti rocks.”
Marcus Alexander

‘Who is Charlie Keeper?’ graffiti (left) began appearing across London soon after the launch of the self-published book in 2008. Artwork and graffiti came predominantly from a mix of unknown artists and notably it was only the CGCrew aka the Corrupt Government Crew that signed their work.
The CGCrew is now defunct but their MySpace page can be found here and their Facebook page here.

Graffiti spray, stencil and hazard signs appeared in North, West and Central London.

Contemporary graffiti (right) is a mix of spray paint, poster and sticker art. Common artists are Sammie Says, Nikster, 101Dragons and Cleo. Recent graffiti features both Keeper of the Realms and ‘Who is Charlie Keeper?’ themes.

Stumbled across any Keeper of the Realms graffiti? Get in touch or send us a photo on Twitter, Facebook or through our contact page.

At one point the graffiti grew so prevalent that Hammersmith and Fulham Council (London) threatened to fine the author:

“You may not be directly responsible for this unauthorised display, however, because the advertisement gives publicity to your goods, trade, business or other concerns, by virtue of section 224 (4)(b) of the Act, you are deemed to be the person displaying it and are therefore also liable to prosecution.” Hammersmith & Fulham Council

“Although I loved the fan graffiti I wasn’t too thrilled about the idea of a large fine. As the Corrupt Government Crew were the only ones signing their work they were the only ones I could chase. I located them through their MySpace page and got in touch. They were really friendly and super cool about the whole situation; to the point that they not only stopped spraying up Hammersmith and Fulham but they also offered to give me a series of graffiti canvases which I’ve been giving out at schools as the funkiest of prizes to inspire students to strive harder to work upon their literacy and creativity. (This felt like a big win.) And as a quirky twist that had me cracking up in stitches the Corrupt Government Crew turned out to be a crew of professional adults, one of which was a community support officer who was moonlighting as a graffiti artist on the side. If that isn’t awesome I don’t know what is!”
Marcus Alexander

“Graffiti is a divisive art form. People either love it or hate it. If you are going to do it please be considerate. That means not just applying all your thought, vibrancy and creativity to your art but also applying the same consideration to where you put it. If your art brings a smile or plants an idea into someone’s head that’s all good but if you cause someone grief by thoughtlessly dashing tags on someone’s hard earned home or establishment then you’ve crossed the line from artist to punk. City life is hard enough as it is, spend your energy making the landscape brighter, not uglier.”
Marcus Alexander