The artist Huge, or Daniel Fahlström as he is really called, has his studio in Nacka. A place that means a lot to him as he is both born and now resides there.

At the beginning of the year, Huge was asked to participate as an artist at the street art festival Wall Street Nacka and thanked him, but a few weeks ago he was told that the festival organizers had canceled his participation.

- I have been given an explanation and it should be clear that if you google my name I will be associated with graffiti, Huge tells the Culture News.

Works with text

Fredrika Friberg is a city creator in Nacka municipality and initiator of Wall Street Nacka. Huge's work with text in his art means that his work does not fit in, she says.

- Huge works pretty much with text. His artistry is based on that. Based on the context that Wall Street Nacka is in, we chose other artists, says Fredrika Friberg to the Culture News.

Huge is known for his photo-realistic style and has assignments all over the world. It was Kollektivet Livet, a group of street art experts, who had been hired by the municipality of Nacka who suggested that Huge participate in the festival.

- He is a worthy candidate and he has received quite a bit of attention. It would have been so fun to lift him, so I was actually a little surprised that he was not allowed to join, says Andreas Blom, founder of Kolivetivet Livet.

Source: Nacka municipality

Tight frames

Nacka municipality's website has clearly listed what the art on Wall Street Nacka can and must not contain. For example, it should not be "rebellious", "aggressive" or express a "protest against bad society". Values ​​that you mean earlier have been associated with painting on walls. Instead, they want art to express "wisdom", be "peaceful" and "soft" and work "for the good society".

Fredrika Friberg thinks that artistic freedom can benefit from clarity.

- It can be seen as good ingredients, as raw materials in artistic creation and as input that the artist can use. It can also be an advantage, she says.

But Huge doesn't share that picture.

- In other countries it is not that big a thing, but in Sweden and Stockholm it seems very sensitive, precisely that the art must not be associated with graffiti without it being murals. We are far behind, I think.