Graffiti controversy won't be whitewashed

The “Lego man” graffiti row has taken on a life of its own, with much of Malaysia’s civil society backing Lithuanian-born artist Ernest Zacharevic’s work, in defiance of the local authorities.

Many people, including Singaporeans from across the Causeway, have flocked to view the graffiti at Taman Molek, unaware that the work on the wall was actually cut-out stickers of Zacharevic’s original painting, The Star newspaper reported. The artist had painted a knife-wielding man lying in wait for a female victim around the corner. Both figures were drawn in the style of Lego toys. It was not clear when the painting was done.

But the artwork upset the Johor Baru City Council, which said it harmed the city’s reputation. After the council ordered the painting to be whitewashed, other artists 

painted a policeman beside the robber, in a bid to “sanitise” the artwork, according to Sin Chew Daily News.

The council was not pacified and the painting was whitewashed on Wednesday.

Soon after, someone pasted cut-outs of the original painting at several places in Taman Molek, The Star reported. These cut-outs were subsequently removed.

Among the critics of the Johor authorities was Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, who said the artwork was not defamatory.

“If the picture of the criminal is someone important, then it is wrong because it is defamatory.

“But if it is just art, action should not be taken,” the Malaysia Sun quoted him as saying.

One of those who saw the cut-outs before they were removed was a Singaporean businessman, known only as Lim. He said he decided to visit Taman Molek after reading about the graffiti on the Internet.

“I did not know that it had been removed, and that this is a paper cut-out,” he said, adding that it looked real.

The Star reported that Zacharevic was hired by a local cafe to create a painting. He stayed on in Johor after the cafe project and created the controversial wall painting.

Meanwhile the cut-outs of the Lego characters that were “removed” have been plastered on walls in several locations here.

Aside the disused wall in Taman Molek where a so-called offensive graffiti by Zacharevic first appeared, the paper cut-outs are now seen on the walls of nearby empty shop houses.

Similar cut-outs have also appeared in an alley in Jalan Maju, the city’s “newspaper street” where several offices and bureaus of the media and publication distributing agencies are located.

Some of the cut-outs, printed to the exact size of the original painting, could be seen pasted on walls in the city centre.

However, a sticker on the wall outside the Chinese cultural museum in Jalan Tan Hiok Nee, in the heart of the city, was found torn down and trashed in a nearby dumpster.

Eric Ku, 42, who brought his family to pose with the cut-outs, said they were disappointed to find the sticker of the woman character missing from the wall when they went there at around 8.30am yesterday.

“I then noticed a crumpled sticker in a pile of rubbish behind the wall. So, I smoothed it out and pasted it back onto the wall.

“My children did not get the chance to see the original painting in Taman Molek so I decided to stop by and take photos of them with the cut-outs after having our breakfast,” he said.