Guido van Helten’s 10-storey artwork at Southern Cross University captivates Gold Coast

SOUTHERN Cross University alumni Guido van Helten shares his insight into the inspiration behind his iconic, photorealistic creations found around the world, and here on the Gold Coast.

Internationally renowned mural artist Guido van Helten and Vice Chancellor Professor Adam Shoemaker in front of the large scale artwork on a building at Southern Cross University Gold Coast campus. Picture: Elise Derwin

FROM low-level graffiti tagging to large-scale murals, Guido van Helten is leaving a giant footprint around the world.

His enormous, eye-catching murals adorn sites across Australia, Europe, Asia and America.

“I come from a history of growing up using spray-paint and working outdoors,” Mr van Helten said.

“Now I do public artwork, working with images of people intended to capture the imagination.”

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Internationally renowned mural artist Guido van Helten in front of his large scale artwork on a side of a building at Southern Cross University Gold Coast campus. Photo: Elise Derwin

He spends plenty of time developing a concept for a location, mostly using a monochromatic palette, which allows him to create intricate shading and details.

He spent a month at the Southern Cross University, hosting photography workshops across two campuses capturing compelling images within the community which informed the design

concept, before raising his boom lift and dispersing paint using a spray gun, paintbrushes and roller.

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Mr van Helten has completed more than 60 large-scale artworks and recently transformed adjoining 10-storey walls at Southern Cross University’s Gold Coast Campus with two lifelike figures immortalised on the skyline.

His creative labour took 18 days and 50 litres of paint, with the 43m-tall masterpiece capturing the country’s imagination and the sense of a meeting place that a university campus represents.

“When you know that you’re going to be doing something very big, imposing and dominant in people’s environments, it can be very nerve-racking,” he said.

World-renowned large/scale artist Guido van Helten painting the 10-storey building at Southern Cross University Gold Coast campus. Picture: NIGEL HALLETT

“The concept developed organically from being here and spending time with the people. It’s technical and figurative.

“I’ve tried to conserve the texture of the building by using a water colour paint, with a lot of fades built up on top of each other.

“The tiny details all blend in from far away, but I like that up close the style falls apart and you can see the construction, which is what people can see from the stairwells and the window.”

World-renowned large/scale artist Guido van Helten painting the 10-storey building at Southern Cross University Gold Coast campus. Picture: Nigel Hallett.

“When you know that you’re going to be doing something very big, imposing and dominant in people’s environments. It can be very nerve-racking,” he said.

“The concept developed organically from being here and spending time with the people. It’s technical and figurative.

“I’ve tried to conserve the texture of the building by using a water colour paint, with a lot of fades built up on top of each other. The tiny details all blend in from far away, but I like that up close the style falls apart and you can see the construction, which is what people can see from the stairwells and the window.”

World-renowned large/scale artist Guido van Helten painting the 10-storey building at Southern Cross University Gold Coast campus. Picture: Nigel Hallett.

Guido graduated from the university’s Lismore campus with a Bachelor of Visual Arts – Printmaking major.

“Even though it’s not what I do now, I obviously learnt something from it,” he said.

“The mural work for me is a lot about the process and mixing paint and lining it up on the wall, and these are all things that you do in print making. You mix the colour, which is meant to last for 100 prints, you mix all the ink and you want to make all the prints match and there are a lot of process things like that, so I think that’s where I learnt it.”

Mr van Helten is now headed overseas for six months.