Helsinki deputy mayor surprised by graffiti that cost thousands to remove

Deputy mayor and councilor for culture Paavo Arhinmäki (46) was caught last week by guards painting a wall in a train tunnel with a friend. Police are investigating the incident due to vandalism and disruption to rail traffic, which has to be temporarily halted due to the incident. The tunnel is used for transporting goods to and from the Port of Helsinki. It is not yet clear whether charges will be filed.

Arhinmäki, who served as culture minister in Finland’s cabinet between 2011 and 2014, has expressed regret but refuses to step down as alderman. His party, the Left Alliance, supports him. In a Facebook post, he referred to a “dumb action” on Sunday. ‘It was stupid to paint there when there are also walls where it’s just allowed. It was also naive to think that no trains would run in the middle of summer and therefore we could paint there.

Arhinmäki, who also did graffiti in his youth and is known as a champion of street art, explained on Facebook how he came to his act. “Since there are legal graffiti walls, I paint from time to time with childhood friends. In addition to the walls where it is allowed, there are many places in Helsinki where painting is not allowed, but where it does not bother anyone either. The railway tunnel was one of those places. The walls have been painted for years and only drivers see them when they drive past.

world domination

The action sparked many discussions on social networks. It costs the Finnish capital 650,000 euros a year to remove illegal graffiti. This is one of the reasons why there are walls designated as legal spray zones.

The work was removed by municipal cleaners on Monday. The Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat posted a photo of the artwork, which the newspaper said was inspired by New York graffiti in the 1970s. According to the deputy mayor himself, it was a depiction of his former neighborhood Pasila in Helsinki.

While working, he had written the English text “Global Dominance and Big Career Moves”, a joke which, according to Arhinmäki, “now turns out to be too true”.