Finnish Graffiti Art on Display at the PoCo Museum

Text Timo Raussi
Photos PoCo Museum

The PoCo Museum, which presents some of the finest modern popular art from around the world in Tallinn, featuring artists such as Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons, and Banksy, is making a major tribute to Finnish graffiti and street art. On 9 April, the museum will open the exhibition “Consulate of EGS” by the most internationally renowned Finnish graffiti artist, known only by the pseudonym EGS, who, like Banksy, carefully guards his identity and appearance.

The exhibition showcases the work of this mysterious Finnish artist, born in 1974 according to Wikipedia, who is also described as an anthropologist of street art. The works on display cover several subgenres of the art form, ranging from graffiti to contemporary art. According to EGS himself, Tallinn has been an important destination for travel and leisure for him for over 30 years.

“Tallinn has always been a dear city to me, and a central place for my art. I have been coming to Tallinn regularly to paint since 1994. I have explored and searched for abandoned buildings, factories, warehouses, and vacant lots. In these places I have painted hundreds of graffiti works. One of my favourite areas has been the Kopli peninsula and its industrial environments. The old Keraamika factory is brought back to life in an installation created at the PoCo Museum. The spaces of PoCo in Rotermann remind me of those meaningful painting locations where I have worked in Tallinn over the years,” says EGS.

EGS’s career began during the first wave of graffiti in Finland in Helsinki in the mid-1980s. Since then, he has worked in more than 50 countries and exhibited his works in prestigious contexts such as contemporary art fairs in Madrid. One of his works is included in the collections of Finland’s largest visual arts museum, the National Gallery, and in 2015 the Helsinki Art Museum commissioned a work from him for the metro station located in Kamppi, Helsinki.

Fewer people may know that EGS has also worked as a glass artist. His works were exhibited at the Finnish Glass Museum in Riihimäki in 2020, and the Vantaa Art Museum Arts has acquired his glass art for its collection.

The “Consulate of EGS” exhibition is open to the public at the PoCo Museum in the Rotermann quarter of Tallinn from 9 April to 31 October 2026. More information about the exhibition can be found here, and tickets to the museum can be purchased either at the door or in advance online here.

To learn more about this and similar topics
Banksy Contemporary Art EGS events Exhibition graffiti Street Art Tallinn