Word by Jiroe

Twesh is one of many foreign style dons to have graced UK shores. He paints real well, is active and comes from a strong writing history. Totally Italian but with a certain understated humbleness that shouldn't be mistaken for a lack of confidence, he can burn off many a wall with no sketch or plan necessary. He also has a healthy love of teacakes, crumpets and a cup of milky tea – we'll soon have him forgetting about Italian anti-pasti! Twesh is also from good steel-destroying stock so be sure to check the whole range of stuff that most writers won't have seen. Time to meet the coolest Heavy Artillery cat on the block.  

What do you write and where are you from? 
I write Twesh One, I am originally from Italy but now live in London.  

When did your graffiti career begin?
I have been painting since the mid-1990s. The city of Peruggia – where I am originally from – is a small provincial city between two bigger Italian metropolises and is rich in good graffiti from just before this time. I then moved from Peruggia to Bologna and grew up with graffiti in both cities.

When did graffiti flourish in your part of Italy?
Norma and Mork brought a lot of what we came to know as graffiti or writing in Peruggia. These two are still doing a lot of stuff and set the precedent for the rest of us. Since then the scene has progressed well. They brought the traditional ideas of writing culture which led on to the next generation including myself and Bero etc becoming active.   

Is it really different painting here compared to Italy?
It is a totally different set of realities between London and Bologna or Peruggia. London is more of a concrete jungle and people behave in a certain way in a city this big. I'm not speaking ill of London but it is definitely crazier, it's really hard to organise painting in somewhere so big. Just before I left Italy I knew my own yard and had my own hall of fame. People wouldn't go over me without calling to ask if it was okay. In England it's not like that, this is a big difference. Here in London you can go over something after one month as this is considered 'old' at a hall of fame. London is big and has ten times the people painting so things live for only a short time. So in the beginning it was really hard for me in London, I didn't know where to go or what to paint over. Another thing is that people are more active in the UK and until I knew some people I didn't really know where to go. There was no-one to call and ask where to paint or what to go over, which can be trouble when you don't know the point of view of other guys that you may bump into. In Peruggia or Bologna it's simpler to know where you stand because people run their own spots. You know what to paint and what not to.   

The FULL interview with TWESH appears in issue 55 of Graphoism magazine - click here to purchase your copy www.graphotism.com/Subscribe-Graphotism-or-MyNameIs-Magazine.74.0.html