Painter of murals 'overwhelmed' by attention
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Lithuanian artist Ernest Zacharevic, whose graffiti became the centre of attention in the past few weeks, said he would definitely contemplate returning to Johor, south of peninsula Malaysia, to create another piece.
He said that it was an overwhelming feeling to see his work under the global spotlight.
Zacharevic was responding to questions in a telephone interview from Penang on whether he was upset when the Johor Baru City Council (MBJB) decided to paint over his original piece. He said that he tried his best to keep from being “attached” to his work.
“I was just a spectator at that moment and instead of anger, I was amazed at how the people tried to keep the art from being removed by including an additional police character behind the thief,” he said.
“I was also delighted after hearing news that paper cut-outs of the original characters had sprung up on walls throughout the city.
“I have never had a reaction of this scale over my work and of course, it is a good feeling.
“My inbox is also on fire as I get hundreds of fan mail and posts relating to my artwork every day.”
He said it was “strange and interesting” to see how the community and the authorities responded to his work.
The artwork, painted on a wall of a dilapidated shop-lot in Taman Molek, Johor Bahru, had depicted a knife-wielding man waiting behind a corner for a female victim walking towards him.
“The artwork itself was an impromptu creation based on what I observed among people throughout the country and how they are fearful of being a victim to street crime.
“It was just a general feeling I had and I did not create the artwork with a certain state or council in mind,” he said, adding that he was not as political as many people had assumed him to be.
Zacharevic, who has been living on and off in Malaysia for the past three years, said that many fans had also warned him to stop painting in the streets as it was “not safe”.
“This is how the community reacts but I personally feel very safe in Malaysia,” he said, adding that he usually returned to his home country twice a year.
On his plans, Zacharevic said that he would be holding his first solo exhibition titled “Art Is Rubbish” in Penang on January 17.
Zacharevic’s graffiti became the centre of attention after several Malaysian politicians and the Johor local council claimed that the work created a negative picture of the state.
Netizens, however, were in support of the artwork as a form of freedom of expression.
