 Life - and art - have come full circle for Arron Bird. Having started his career with one of the purest forms of public art - spraying graffiti on the streets of Wolverhampton - Arron now finds himself chosen to create the centrepiece sculpture for Birmingham's iconic Cube development. The artist - better known to many as Temper - won the right to design and make the piece in a national competition, judged by a panel which included Alan Chatham and Mark Billingham from The Mailbox, Veejay Lingiah from The Artlounge and Frances Gatton from Make Architects, designers of The Cube itself. Not only is this Arron's first ever piece of public art, it will be his first sculpture; he was also the only shortlisted artist not to have worked in the medium. "The great thing is I knew I was up against some good people which was challenging in itself - there is that nervousness that that's what they do," says Arron as we chat at his Newhampton Lofts art studio. "When I went in there for my first initial meeting, they did a presentation about what The Cube is and what it stands for, I'm sitting there and I had about three ideas that came to me straight there on the spot. "The great thing about the opportunity to do this is the way Ken Shuttleworth and Make Architects have created this idea based on the heritage of Birmingham," says Arron. "It already put a suggestion in the artists' minds of what to create there - so in true Temper fashion I did the opposite!" The final phase of The Mailbox development, The Cube will be a 17-storey mixed use development set for completion mid 2009. The £100 million project will include shops, offices and apartments, as well as a rooftop restaurant and boutique hotel. Arron's sculpture will adorn the central atrium which twists up through the building's core. "I've got to be honest I had mixed feelings [when I heard I had won]" admits Arron, who was chosen from a shortlist which included Wolfgang & Heron, Ray Lonsdale, Neil Wood, David Annand and John Atkin. "I was very excited, but also it had become real, so I was slightly nervous; I'm not too big to say that I'm overwhelmed that I'm in a Ken Shuttleworth and Make Architects building... that for me was the icing on the cake because I'm a great fan of what they do. "I was just told there was a competition being run for the public art in The Cube, and obviously knowing that Ken Shuttleworth and Make Architects were behind the building itself, that made me more interested in the idea, I'm a big Ken Shuttleworth fan anyway, he's a bit of a genius." While the winning design is very much still under tight wraps, Arron does hint at the impact and concept behind his winning sculpture: "It's challenging; it's going to change the way that people view public art," he says with a cryptic smile on his face. "It's very contemporary, very thought provoking - not what people are going to expect, it's not very predictable, it's very iconic - an unforgettable piece of public art, and not just for Birmingham, that's worldwide. "I feel like when you were at school," he chuckles. "'I've got something in my pocket - ain't telling you what it is!" Alan Chatham, Director at Birmingham Development Company says: "When we launched the final phase of The Mailbox, we held an architecture competition to ensure we chose the right architects and the right scheme. Birmingham has a lack of modern, notable architecture and a lack of notable modern art too - so with The Cube now underway, we felt it was only right to follow suit and hold a competition to choose the right artist to design the artwork for the building. "We have been overwhelmed by the talent and effort which each of the artists and sculptors displayed. It was extremely difficult to choose the final winner, but in the end the judging panel were unanimous that Temper should be elected as the winner with one of his pieces. We are really excited to see how this progresses over the coming months." Arron talks proudly, rather than conceitedly, about his design, confident in his ability and his creation rather than simply sing his own praises: "People will go to that building just for the public art, I'll put hand on heart and say that," he says. "Tourists will want to be there; as soon as I created the concept every single person that came into contact with it got it straight away. "Even though I know I've got good solid ideas, to know that the work will be perceived right by the judge and jury, for them to 'get it', that was a nice feeling." He adds: "I think I've done Birmingham proud and I'm proud of Birmingham; I hate to say it 'cos I don't like sounding egotistical, but it will change everything. "I'm totally overwhelmed by the situation, don't get me wrong," Arron continues. "I haven't actually met Ken yet - I think I might have a bit of a trembling lip when I do because he is a genius, he's something this country should be very, very proud of - he's Birmingham-born as well." If Birmingham isn't already proud of Arron himself, the signs are it soon will be. Temper's new figurative collection of nudes, entitled A New Day, is due to be released later this Spring. www.thecubeiscoming.com www.artlounge.co.uk | 
