ERNEST ZACHAREVIC (LT)
This young Lithuanian artist Ernest Zacharevic became internationally noticed with his series of interactive murals on the streets of Penang, Malaysia.
You would have seen it on your social networks or in the media, if you haven’t seen it in person yet; a mural depicting two children, an older girl and her younger brother riding pillion painted on a wall, with an actual bicycle propped up next to them, giving the illusion that these two kids were cycling down the street without a care in the world – their smiling faces inviting you to join in on the fun!
These iconic works have become enormously popular across the city with tens of thousands interacting with the work. By fusing the physical world with his imagination, the Penang-based artist created a unique form of street work that combined the best of urban intervention with muralism that was destined for internet fame.
The works insert beauty and wonder into the lowliest, least spectacular, least obvious places we (fail to) see every day. They not only change the way you look at a particular feature of the streetscape, they change the way you look at the streetscape in general. They transform without sanction, and without ego.
More recent works include a tribute to the Russian street artist P183 who passed away recently as well as his own take on Shepard Fairey’s classic "Obey" paste up.
