ART / LIFE

FILM

ELIAS MARKKULA

PHOTOS

TEEMU HELJO

Art / Life series meets with different artists and discusses their outlooks and views on life & art.

JUGIX2 is a graffiti / street artist from Helsinki.

“I think it was in 1994 when I painted with cans the first time. I was thirteen years old." 

“I got really carried away by the whole culture. For a guy who really doesn’t want to underline himself or reveal his own persona or identity, it was a perfect way to hide behind a tag.”

“It was such an adventure for a teenager. To go out every night painting and running away from the guards. You never really knew what was going happen. The biggest reward was to get a photo and see your piece in broad daylight.”

“I was in my twenties when it kind of started to get a bit too heavy for me. I started to think that maybe these overly illegal activities wasn’t for me. I had always been kind of an honest person and wanted to do things with a good conscience. It started to feel like the wrong way for me to continue. All that painting at night jumping over railroads and stuff.”

“I kind of grew out of that fuck you, teenage attitude”

“In the early 1990’s Helsinki was full of graffiti. There was color and graffiti everywhere. It was so inspiring for me and many others. Then towards the end of the century they introduced a zero tolerance law for graffiti in Finland. It kind of stopped the culture and killed a whole generation.”

“During the last year when I started doing more of these legal streetart projects, I’ve noticed that I still have the same passion for doing this. That excitement. It’s still there and it’s so important to keep it there. You start every project with the same enthusiasm be it a graffiti, street art or any other drawing or painting project.”

“Though I know how to hold the can, I’m still figuring this out. Experimenting, finding my own technique and trying different things. I really can’t say how’s it going to look in the future. Only time will tell.”

“Any kind of art or culture, be it music, painting or whatever, it’s always evolving with all the different kinds of people doing it. I think it’s good that now there is something for everyone. There’s the street art side and the graffiti side.”

“In my opinion the more you put your hands in the dirt the more you learn. The more you challenge yourself the better.”