The world’s first graffiti stamps will be published in September
Posti Ltd has granted the stamp art promotion award of 2018 to graffiti artist EGS. The award includes a EUR 10,000 monetary prize and a stamp publication of the artist’s work. Posti will publish the stamps with EGS’s work in September, and they will presumably be the world’s first stamps including real graffiti.
The stamp sheet that will be published on September 12 portrays two different domestic no-value indicator stamps with EGS’s graffiti from around the world. EGS created the reddish graffiti in cooperation with local painters in a warehouse area in Melbourne, Australia, in 2015. “It is wonderful that this graffiti will be published as a stamp on the other side of the world.”
The second stamp illustrates letters E, G and S that form the map of the world. “I made that graffiti on the side of a small truck during an art festival in St. Petersburg in 2014. I find it great that the map of the world started to circle around St. Petersburg at the same time when Russia was about to shut down due to financial sanctions. I have always been interested in maps and borders.”
EGS has been familiar with letters and stamps for many years. “I had tens of pen pals all around the world and we exchanged photos of graffiti. After the graffiti stamps have been published in September, I will send a bundle of photos to my old colleagues around world using first day covers and the stamp that I have designed. I’m really looking forward to it,” says EGS.
The award increases the respect for art and stamps
Posti aims at increasing the respect and status of art and stamps with this unique award that is granted for the second time. “We are looking for new talents from outside the stamp design world. EGS is an interesting artist who breaks down traditional art barriers with his graffiti. Visually, graffiti suits stamps very well,” says Design Manager Tommi Kantola, Chairman of Posti’s Art Committee. Posti’s art award 2017 was handed over to sculptor Jasmin Anoschkin.
EGS is one of the internationally best known graffiti artists in Finland. EGS’s art career started after the mid 1980s in Helsinki, inspired by the first wave of graffiti in Finland. Nowadays, EGS’s graffiti can be found in more than 50 countries around the world. During the past few years, EGS has extended his artistic expression towards more traditional art forms, for example, paintings, sculptures and installations. EGS’s work is also displayed in Helsinki Art Museum (HAM) in the graffiti exhibition, which is open to the public until September 9.
