When we heard that the JJ-Street Baltic Session Street Art Jam festival had invited Australian street artist Guido van Helten to Tallinn, we were damn sure we wanted to meet him.
This 28-year-old guy is famous for his large scale portraits. He is originally from Melbourne but during the last years his insane talent has carried him to do projects in the UK, Denmark, Iceland, Greenland, Italy Ukraine and now, lucky for us, also in Estonia. During his one week stay in Tallinn van Helten created this striking piece of work on the wall of Tartu St 71 building.
We expected something pretty amazing but never in our wildest dreams did we imagine his new mural being inspired by the Estonian national story Kalevipoeg.
What’s your story? How did you end up doing murals?
I grew up in Melbourne where graffiti culture influenced me a lot and over time became more and more interested in it. When I was 15, I started with traditional graffiti and did it for almost ten years. When I was about 24 I started doing murals and understood quickly that I have to create my own style of murals that I could express myself through. I decided to focus on old photographs.
I’m 28 now, so I’ve been developing this style for four years now and I’m still learning. My painting style has developed along with different type of photographs I see.
How do you usually prepare for your projects?
I do a lot of preparation, spend hours on looking at photographs just to find something that inspires me and that have something I like in it. Every time I visit a new city I learn about its history and culture beforehand.
When I find the photo, I then start to plan the mural. I think about the colour, the wall, the location and how the image is going to sit on the wall. After that I do a very technical design, that takes me days. That’s why my works have a lot of emotion in them as well.
Is painting murals your main job?
Yes, it’s my main job and I enjoy it a lot.
In recent years you have done projects in different countries. Do you have a favourite project that you would like to highlight?
Last year in September I went to Greenland where I did the first street art project they have ever seen there and it was something I’d been thinking about for a year. Eventually I found contacts and a possibility to go there. Painting there was very satisfying because Nuuk, the capital of Greenland is so tiny, surrounded by beautiful nature and mountains. Painting there was one the most satisfying jobs.
How would you describe your mural here in Tallinn?
This painting here is quite different from my previous work because I’m using normal paint as well as spray, usually I only use spray. For this project I read a lot about Estonia and the local history. I was inspired by the image of the woman Saarepiiga from the play of the Estonian national story Kalevipoeg.
Guido van Helten arrived at the festival in cooperation with The Australian Embassy in Stockholm. His mural is one of many that were painted during JJ-Street Baltic Session: Street Art Jam and our dear reader can get an overview of all of them on the festival’s Facebook page.
Author: Helina Mäll
Editor: Ülli Saar
Photos: Guido van Helteni homepage and official Facebook