Pallo from Finland

Pallo from Finland

By Arden de Raaij

Ah, Finland! 338,000 square kilometers of coldness. For every 17 people there is a square kilometer of lake, pine trees and snow.  The only thing more common than Snow is drunk people(and Nokia’s perhaps). Summers with no darkness and winters with no light, combined with enough cold to turn mad anyone from the European mainlands. Over the generations the Finnish learned to deal with the cold and lack of light /darkness in an effective manner: They’re all bloody mad! Some of them found the perfect outlet for their madness though (besides drinking), like Pallo! Pallo is CFYE’s favorite Finnish street artist. He’s also the only one we know and doesn’t live in the crazy north, but that doesn’t make him less awesome!

“The depression is long gone, but the monsters have remained and made me to continue painting.”

Pallo and his monster
Pallo and his monster

Pallo: “My hometown is Turku. It’s located in the south-west of Finland. No penguins or polar bears, but we still have a long winter and the painting season is quite short!“. Pallo found an effective way to deal with the cold and alcohol abuse.

Pallo, Finland
Pallo, Finland
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Pallo, Finland

Pallo: “I’ve always been interested in drawing and painting. About ten years ago I became more interested in the hip hop culture and graffiti. However, I quickly became frustrated making traditional graffiti because I felt I wasn’t very good at it. Painting letters never felt like my thing. About four years ago I had some sort of seasonal depression (surprise surprise, red.) and I needed a channel to remove the bad feelings. That was the time when the monsters were born. The depression is long gone, but the monsters have remained and made me to continue painting.

Pallo
Pallo

Pallo’s creatures never fail to make me laugh and seem to be quite the emotional bunch. According to Pallo this is because they’re his alter ego: “The creatures are my alter ego. Pictures are born from the mood I’m at in that moment. I usually don’t sketch my characters at all, so the painting is as spontaneous and as fun as possible.

Pallo from Finland
Pallo from Finland
Pallo from Finland
Pallo from Finland

When asking Pallo about his goals, he remains humble, yet very passionate about his art. Pallo:Painting is more like therapy than status-seeking for me. I’m afraid to lose the joy of painting if I try to achive something particular with it. Painting gives me peace of mind and a break from hectic everyday life. And if I can entertain other people at the same time, it is enough for me!

Pallo vs. Aie
Pallo vs. Aie

I’ve been saving up money for a longer trip, so in the future my painting may appear in other parts of Europe too..!

Untill then, we’ll promise you that we’ll keep an eye on Pallo and his amazing creatures!

Pallo VS monster
Pallo VS monster
Pallo mural
Pallo mural
Pallo,Aie
Pallo,Aie
Pallo from Finland
Pallo from Finland