ISSUE 8 | INTERVIEW | 1995
The first ones to hit Finnish local trains were Crisp and Zoom early 1986, at least according to legends. However, the ones who really started it were Cher (aka Astron) and Finger of The Trio Runners crew with their summer of 1987 panel piece “Grave”. It was done at the Ilmala yards and run for the most of the summer.
“Back in the days”, Astron recalls, “Ilmala was a crazy place. We walked in there straight past the control room.”
Ray 52: “Next day we went back to look at it and just walked in again and went inside trains and took pictures.”
Astron: “Some time later in 1988, when it was still easy, you could meet other writers at the yards just hanging out. You could go and ask ‘what do you write’ and all that shit like it was somewhere else.”
Astron and Ray 52 both started 1986 and are still down. During six weeks in November-December 1992 they painted about 20 panels right there at the Helsinki Central Railway Station between tracks 14 and 15. As local trains are harder and harder to hit, the “Texwillers” and Railships at the Pasila Yards are favourite spots for these true-schoolers.
“Walls are a lot of fun but trains are alive.” Astron says.
“And there isn’t more lucorius surface than the flat finnish local train.” adds Ray 52.
What are your goals in the future?
Astron: “I still haven’t done that top-to-bottom. And I wanna do that new Pendolino before no-one else. Just a throw-up or whatever.”