Ruedione from Heidelberg, Germany, is one of the best known graffiti photographers worldwide. For years he was an active graffiti writer himself, what makes it possible for him to have a close contact to the writers scene and thus access to illegal live graffiti action.
His photos - mostly in black/white - visually describe the emotions during writing. It’s his lifework to document and preserve the moments that kept him writing his name on a lot of surfaces for years.
*The images show all the tension, the adrenalin and the kicks that graffiti writers experience. A visual expedition into a world that usually is restricted to the members of a very small scene. His photos show the active graffiti scene worldwide - may it be New York City, Sao Paulo or Hamburg.
In his series, documentary photography that creates contemporary documents meets abstract snapshots that are distinguished by their independent aesthetics. These images give the viewer an insight into an usually hidden scene.* (From his blog.)
A well-known work of him is the “Montana Writer Team” book in which the graffiti artists Atom, Cantwo, Dash, Kent and Smash137 are photographically portrayed.
Ruedi One’s new book, called “Backflashes – graffiti tales”, shows photos of (illegal) graffiti worldwide from 2002 to 2008 and will be out this year in October or November. I am curious. Recently, our friend of ilovegraffiti made an interesting interview with him. Take a look!