How does a boy from Risskov become a street art artist in Aarhus?

Mikkel Tschentscher Jessen has been drawing since he was 10 years old, until it became more fun to spend the time playing computer games instead. So when he picked up a pencil again 2 years ago and started drawing, it looked like something he drew back when he was 10 years old.

Because he hadn't nurtured his talent all these years, he had lots of images in his head, but great challenges in getting them down on paper. "You can't fool yourself with talent, it's about practice, practice, practice" and Mikkel has been doing that for the past two years, where he has been creating street art on gables and tiles in Aarhus.

It was two years ago that he made the big decision to quit his job as an animator. "The working day ended with 8 hours in front of the screen and then going home and sitting in front of my own computer afterwards. The body couldn't take it. I wanted to exercise, but I'm injured, so it won't be as much exercise as I should".

Mikkel's first work

He started making street art in his own backyard in the center of Aarhus and it has taken off from there. "I have saved up a lot from my job, which I can live on and so I live very frugally". Like so many other artists, Mikkel doesn't do it for the money. He has loved every day for the past two years and he appreciates that in a big way. "There are, of course, periods without jobs and then you may well doubt that it will work. But that's what it's like to be an artist"

The very first work that Mikkel painted was for his friend Christian. Christian said "come over here and paint a work" and he didn't have to say that twice. The two friends gathered two large chipboards of 2,5 x 2,5 meters in Christian's living room and Mikkel had a large blue monkey painted, on a pink background, sitting and looking out into nowhere.

After that it took off and now Mikkel's initials M¨J are more and more visible in the Aarhusian street art environment. Not all of Mikkel's works sit at eye level. Some of them are actually stepped on several thousand times a week. Many of us who walk around the center of Aarhus have no doubt come across several of the 30 bird motifs burned with thermoplastic into the tiles.

Mikkel still finds it difficult to understand how big the project has actually become and that many people in Aarhus now know him by name. However, he can still walk undisturbed around the city, because even though his name is becoming more well-known, not many people recognize him by his appearance. It reflects virtually all names in the street art environment, where tags, graffiti, throw ups and peaces are seen around the city. Here the initials are recognised, while the people behind them remain anonymous.

A childhood in Risskov

Mikkel grew up in Risskov and as he himself points out "I had a fantastic upbringing and was probably the biggest curling child". However, the father believed that Mikkel could well have been more rebellious as a youth. "But why should I be rebellious, everything has been perfect?".

A bit rebellious, however, you could say that Mikkel has since left. Because while his friends come to parties in Risskov in expensive cars, Mikkel comes cycling on his old bike, which is held together by strips and the rear fender, which is broken. And he is also the only one in the group of boys from Risskov who has tattoos all over his body, even if they are his father's drawings. As Mikkel puts it with a small laugh, "it won't get any more corny, but my father is my biggest source of inspiration and I thought that what he does is insanely good".

From Risskov to Copenhagen

Although Mikkel loves Århus, he has been wandering around Copenhagen. It was quite a contrast to move from Risskov to Herlev. Here he suddenly had to juggle between a slightly different environment.

As Mikkel says with a smile on his face, "I don't really fit into the criteria that exist in the artist environment. The other Risskov boys think that I have become more of a gangster from being over there and those from Copenhagen thought I was a total cream boy. I've asked my mother what I can do to get a bit more edge because basically I'm just a boy from Risskov".

Street art in the backyard

Some of the first gable paintings that Mikkel made can only be seen if you enter the backyard where he lives.

Most people in Aarhus have certainly come across the ice cream painted on the kiosk at Den Permanente. It is Mikkel who is the artist behind it and after that project he got blood on his teeth to make something bigger. With a lift into the small backyard, Mikkel's 3rd work emerged, which became the Gentleman Octopus with the small bowler hat. Like the rest of his works, that name also has a deeper meaning. Like many of us, Mikkel has also been on Tinder for several years and has repeatedly seen girls searching for the perfect gentleman. But what is the perfect gentleman?. Because as he says “there are actually men who still hold a door to be polite. It may well not be Emma Gad with tact and tone, but there are other ways to be a gentleman". "My challenge is that the girls don't think I look like a gentleman, so I never get a chance and that's why I've chosen to paint the octopus standing with a hat for the same reason.

Street art with animal motifs

During corona, Mikkel was inspired for his 4th painting. It's called Restrictions lifted and the message behind it is that some wrap themselves up under corona and stay at home, while others are curious and want to go around and see what's happening. All of Mikkel's works, like most street art artists, have a deeper meaning. Even if he is convinced that 98% will look at them without thinking about whether there is a deeper message behind them, while the last 2% will clearly get something out of the work.

Mikkel's newest painting in the backyard is painted in the gate that leads into the yard. Most people certainly do not notice the hidden figures that are in the work. Because the figures are painted in the same colors as the others. But if you look closely, you can see a hammerhead shark, a pig, a bird, a crocodile and an elephant where they don't belong. The work is painted to do away with the society we have, where everyone tries to blend into the crowd and goes in the same direction. People do not embrace diversity and that is the message of the work. Mikkel likes it when people stand out, to a certain extent. Because you are still a boy from Risskov deep down.

Social projects

Mikkel has so many ideas that there is not enough time for them all. That is why he is also selective with what he spends his time on. Mikkel has, among other things, chose to spend some of his time on social projects in the city. Like when he had to do a project with homeless people in Aarhus in collaboration with the municipality. They had found a wall where a hammerhead shark with hearts in its eyes was to be painted with the help of the homeless.

"The reason was because people look down on the homeless and are perhaps just afraid of them. The hammerhead shark represents the homeless. People see this scary creature, but actually it's just love and the homeless are really nice when you talk to them". Unfortunately, the project did not come to fruition as the building owners said no to the building being painted.

Never quite satisfied

One of the more challenging works that Mikkel has made are the 3 columns with birds under the Langelinie bridge. Although Mikkel himself thought that the columns turned out quite well, he, like most artists, is never satisfied with his own works. He sees for himself all the little mistakes with paint that runs, colors that don't match or cover properly. “That's why I always push myself to get better. If you are suddenly happy with everything that you do, then you stall in your own development".

Along the way, it has also resulted in quite a few rejections for Mikkel. “When I get a rejection, I have to do better next time. You can either choose to be knocked out or to continue, and of course it's boring, but it's just about continuing".

From street art to record covers

The newest shot on Mikkel's creative strain is an album cover for the Aarhusian rapper, Young Topper and after that, it also became a cover for the rapper Kemil. A few weeks ago it became 3 new covers and Mikkel has subsequently been contacted by a label under Universal Music, who have shown interest in the young artist and his ability to create unique album covers.

One of the recurring motifs in Mikkel's works are birds. For Mikkel, it has a very special meaning "it doesn't matter how much people build or destroy in nature, you can always hear a bird chirping. It is so beautiful and life-affirming”. The birds will always mean something and will appear again in many works, but Mikkel also knows that if he is to develop, other motives will be needed in the long term. However, he does not feel that the birds have reached their full potential and that they can still develop.