400 pages Text(s) by Cruze, MZA & André R., DeepL Designed by Cruze 30 x 23.4 cm Language: German and English Hardback Publisher: Cruze.ch First edition of signed and hand numbered 500 copies 2024
Alter Ego is a testament to four decades of creative rebellion, created over five years and realized entirely independently, from digitization to archiving to distribution. Both an archive and an art object, the book captures the uncompromising vision of an artist who shaped the language of graffiti from within.
Behind the enigmatic pseudonym CRUZE stands an artist defined by duality. By day he leads an inconspicuous life on the margins of society; by night, his alter ego emerges in the alleys of Zurich, where he became one of the city’s earliest and most influential graffiti writers. His aggressive comic characters, bold graphic sensibility, and unmistakable style-writing reveal a practice driven by instinct, discipline, and a lifelong devotion to visual expression.
Alter Ego traces this 40-year journey with unfiltered honesty, offering rare access to Cruze’s evolution as both graffiti artist and graphic designer. Authentic, self-produced, and fiercely personal, the book stands apart in today’s polished art-publishing landscape: a definitive volume for graffiti enthusiasts, urban historians, and collectors seeking the real story behind a true original.
