Lifelike murals invades Malaysian cities
Whimsical murals of children at play on the walls of buildings in the heritage area of George Town in Penang, Malaysia, have drawn visitors on a daily basis over the past year. Some days, queues form as people take turns to pose next to interactive murals of an old bicycle, a motorbike, a chair and even under window awnings.
The paintings, by Lithuanian-born Ernest Zacharevic, were commissioned for the George Town Festival 2012. His wall art has also been spotted in Singapore, in various parts of Europe and most recently, in Malaysia’s southern city of Johor Bahru.
Sometimes compared to Britain’s Banksy, Zacharevic’s street art is fun, cute and heart-warming, and only occasionally controversial. In George Town, two children are painted laughing in delight as they ‘ride’ a real bicycle propped against the peeling wall while nearby, the side of a building features a larger-than-life painting of a girl balancing herself above two windows.
In Rome, Zacharevic created a tribute to Jerry the cartoon mouse, painting him as if running away from his feline adversary Tom, into an actual hole in the wall. The 27-year-old artist has been painting for 15 years.
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