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Thursday, March 31, 2016

Art Gallery - Balik Pulau Street Art Wall Murals

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Balik Pulau Street Art Wall Murals
Balik Pulau, Penang, Malaysia - March 2016
The street art in Penang Island has become a culture by itself, one that has drawn many tourists to the island. It all started when Lithuanian artist Ernest Zacharevic did some wall murals around the streets of George Town during the George Town Festival 2012 depicting the simple life-style of the locals. Street art then bloomed with Ernest doing more pieces, other artists doing metal rod artwork (which depicted scenes from the city's colonial past) and then there is even a series on cats.

Now up in Balik Pulau on the other end of the island, Siberian-born Russian artist Julia Volchkova have painted beautiful pieces, pieces which also portrays the local culture. The Balik Pulau literally mean "back of the island" in Malay, a very apt name for a quiet town at the back of the island. A few of us did a cycling tour of the place to enjoy it's rural setting ending with a stint to view these wall murals. For location of these pieces, see map at the bottom.
Below are three pieces by her in this town:
"Hakka Dancing Girl" - GPS 
This is a painting of Pang Yi Chuen, a local Hakka girl whose traditional dancing caught the artist's eyes at the Hakka Association in George Town. Balik Pulau town has a predominant Hakka population.
GPS 5.349820, 100.234219

(Click here for Google street view)


"The Silat Master"
This is a portrait of Johari Omar in a silat stance. Silat is the traditional martial arts practised in the Malay Archipelago and Indonesia.
GPS 5.349398, 100.233800


(Click here for Google street view)



 "Fisherman"
This is a portrait of Yeoh Choon Seng, a local fisherman from nearby Teluk Kumbar, mending fishing nets.
GPS 5.351839, 100.235673


(Click here for Google street view)

"Silversimith" by Ernest Zacharevic.
It depicts an old wrinkled silversmith and was carried out in an interesting way - with a water-jet blasting away a dark mossy wall to expose the original paintwork below.
GPS 5.352653, 100.236330
(Click here for Google street view)




Related Blogs :


Street Art @ Hin Bus Art Depot
George Town, Penang : February 2014
An exhibition of interesting art by Lithuanian artist Ernest Zacharevic





You may also like :

Street Art of Ipoh, Perak : May 2014 
Street art is slowing but surely blooming in Ipoh.


Street Art of Gopeng, Perak : July 2014 
The street art culture is spreading and is now budding in Gopeng.


Graffiti Street Art @
Kuala Lumpur Storm Drains #1 : September 2013
A surprise find of large mural street art graffiti in the storm drains of Kuala Lumpur












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