LONDON.- 1 in 11 men will get prostate cancer – an alarming statistic, and a largely unknown fact. To generate awareness of this, 11 internationally renowned urban artists have been commissioned to create works to be auctione as part of Bonhams’ Urban Art Auction on 24th February, with proceeds from the works going to The Prostate Cancer Charity, the UK’s leading charity working with people affected by the disease.

The reputable artists including D*Face, Dan Baldwin, Eine, Pure Evil, Gerald Laing, Andrew McAttee, Blek Le Rat, Mr Jago, Nick Walker and Xenz are reaching out to the younger generation to highlight the issue through the broad appeal of urban art, as well as giving something back to the wider community.

Prior to the auction, an exhibition will be held at The Truman Brewery from 12th to 17th February in order to preview the huge works. Reaching 175 x 60cm, the dimensions of the canvases are those of an average man; the life size work emphasising this very real life problem. Every year 35,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer in the UK and one man dies every hour of the disease – a shockingly real issue.

Paul Forster, Chairman of The Prostate Cancer Charity, who has enlisted the help of his daughter Eleanor Forster - an East End based gallerist - to organise the exhibition said, “It is fantastic to have the support of such high profile artists. We hope their work will raise awareness - of what is sometimes considered a taboo subject - to a diverse audience in an appealing way, whilst also raising funds for the Charity to help those affected by prostate cancer. The Charity is fighting prostate cancer on every front - through research, support, information and campaigning.”

D*Face
D*Face is a London based artist who works with a variety of mediums and techniques. His aim is to encourage the public not just to 'see', but to look at what surrounds them and their lives. Recent examples include his collaboration with H.R.H Queen Elizabeth II on a series of bank notes that were put into circulation and a commissioned portrait of Pope Benedict XVI to commemorate his instatement.

Dan Baldwin
Named critics choice by Rebecca Wilson for Saatchi online, Dan’s work has featured in magazines such as Dazed and Confused, I.D, Modern Painters, Vogue, Elle Decoration and Elle; along with extensive coverage in other publications. Baldwin has exhibited widely across the UK and abroad over the last 10 years, including Miami, Basel and New York.

Eine
Eine is a prolific street artists based in London. He is most notable for his alphabet lettering on shop shutters in London's Shoreditch, Brick Lane and Broadway Market areas. He has also taken his lettering to the streets of Paris, Stockholm and Newcastle upon Tyne.

Pure Evil
Moving from London to California in the 1990s, Pure Evil became inspired by skateboard culture and the west coast character graffiti of Twist. Taking this prompt, he returned to London and created his mark with the infamous vampire bunnies. He has since set up a gallery exhibiting his work alongside prints and a clothing range.

Mr Jago
The Bristol based urban artist is considered a veteran in the urban art and design scene. He famously took the influence of graffiti and created his pioneering ‘doodle’ style scene. The hugely successful artist has worked with some of the biggest international brands including Nike, Puma and Sprite.

Gerald Laing
As one of the original wave of Pop artists, Gerald Laing produced some of the most significant works of the British Pop movement. In recent years his work has seen a return to the contemporary media images that inspired his early work, with new paintings depicting Amy Winehouse, Kate Moss and Victoria Beckham.

Andrew McAttee
McAttee studied Fine Art at Central St Martin’s, London Since graduating in 1995 his work has been featured in numerous exhibitions including his own shows ‘Suck It And See’ in Soho and “Off the Wall’ with thecentralhouse in 2003. McAttee‘s work is becoming highly collectable with commissions from Benson & Hedges, Nike and fashion designer, Antonio Berardi amongst others.

Blek Le Rat
Considered by many to be the originator of stencil graffiti, Blek has been adorning the streets of Paris since 1981 with his hugely original and intelligent artwork. Since then he has had a great influence on today's graffiti and "guerrilla art" movements, his main motivation being social consciousness and the desire to bring the art to the people.

Nick Walker
One of Britain’s graffiti pioneers, Nick Walker has worked out of Bristol for more than 20 years. In 1992 he began to move away from conventional graffiti to stencil art combined with freehand, allowing him to juxtapose almost photographic imagery with the rawness which evolved from conventional graffiti styles.

Xenz
Xenz has practiced graffiti art for 20 years, developing a unique approach to the art form. He is a celebrated freestyle artist with an extraordinary ability to work directly and from memory rather than within the constraints of any self-imposed outlines and formulas. In 1993 he formed what has become one of the UK’s longest standing and most respected graffiti crews known as the tcf crew / 20th century frescoes.