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Published: December 28th 2013
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Walking around the old city of George Town, Penang, is a fun exercise. One of the things guaranteed to bring a smile to your face – unless you’re truly a grumpy, old curmudgeon – is the street art.
On July 7, 2008, George Town was officially named a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its unique architecture and cultural heritage. As such, the historic core of the city has remained. Renovation of old buildings is encouraged, and there are financial incentives for building owners to refurbish the outside of their structures to historic accuracy. High rises and modern shopping malls are relegated to the outskirts.
In 2012 the Penang Municipal Council made the bold move of commissioning a Lithuanian artist named Ernest Zacharevic to create a series of murals around the city. Collectively these are called “Mirrors George Town” and they are marvelous.
I came across the first one, called “Kung Fu Girl,” my first morning as I went out walking with no particular destination in mind. After that, I saw beauty everywhere in the splendid interplay of colors fading on plaster that makes every wall and shop house into a work of art.
To find these murals
you just have to follow the hoards of mostly young Japanese tourists on bicycles taking pictures of the art, taking pictures of each other standing in front of the art, and taking pictures of each other taking pictures. The girls also giggle a lot.
Several of these paintings also incorporate real objects; the painting of the little boy has him standing on a real chair reaching up for a real opening in the wall. It’s a playful take on the people of the city, and I enjoyed it immensely. Other artists have taken up their brushes, and there are now about twenty recognized paintings, though some of them are fading fast.
Another street art series is called “Marking George Town.” Begun in 2009, it turns caricatures by local cartoonists into full size steel rod sculptures. These sculptures were fabricated by a company called Sculpture at Work, and tell facts about an area in a cheeky, light-hearted way. One of my favorites shows the dismay of church goers when they find out that one of their neighbors is the headquarters of a notorious gang. There are over 50 currently adorning the walls of the city, and I understand that
there may be more coming.
The architecture of George Town also caught my eye. Three distinct cultures left their mark – the British, the Chinese, and the Indian, mainly Tamil. It’s easy to tell the old British buildings; massive structures with high ceilings that are still used as government offices. The Chinese shophouses went through several styles over the decades, and were different depending on the province in China that the owner had come from. . For a very good overview of shophouse styles, see
http://www.penangshophouse.blogspot.com But the style that really caught my eye and is still abundant in the core of the city is the Mid-Century Modern architecture. Set off by clean lines and curving forms, it was post Second World War way of looking at buildings, and there are a lot of them in George Town. Many of them have changed function – The Great Shanghai Dry-Cleaners is now a hotel – but because of its UNESCO designation, the new owners have kept the exterior and refurbished it to its original state.
This is a city with a lot to look at, and I always found something new to see.
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RJT
Rachael
I love interesting street art, so really interesting to read about George Town. This one's my favourite!