2024 seems to be a bad year for murals on buildings.
Previously, the mural of a smoking samsui woman on a Chinatown wall faced ordered changes from Singapore’s Urban Redevelopment Agency (URA) for alleged encouragement of smoking.
After controversy and a re-evaluation, the mural got to stay as it was.
Artist Finds KL Goldsmith Mural Painted Over
Unfortunately, the same did not happen for a “Goldsmith” mural in Kuala Lumpur (KL).
Painted on the side of a building in KL’s Jalan Panggung, it depicted a man in a singlet, staring through his spectacles as he works his craft using a goldsmith’s hammer.
The art practically melded into the dilapidated building wall.
This mural was the work of 36-year-old Russian street artist Julia Volchkova, who painted it in 2016.
It was featured in several articles, including a TimeOut list of the best street art in KL.
However, eight years later in 2024, Volchkova found that her mural had been painted over in favour of a new one.
Except this one was all flat white, which doesn’t quite look as good.
“It’s so sad. They covered my painting. We are crying!” She said, looking disheartened in an Instagram video alongside two others, presumably her friends.
In the post’s caption, she wrote that she didn’t know why the mural was painted over with a flat white facade.
“If anyone knows the real reason, please tell me.”
Maybe the building owner thought it was an endorsement of hammering things.
She called the loss of her painting “painful because my art is my children. It’s a part of me.”
Volchkova then wrote about the difficulty in painting “Goldsmith”.
“I spent my time, my knowledge, my health on it. I have health problems after creating such heavy works.”
Volchkova also called her mural “an indicator of Malaysia’s cultural level worldwide”, and so felt it was strange to remove it.
In the caption, Volchkova also acknowledged that this was a problem faced by many street artists and that the rule for this medium was to always be prepared for your art to be painted over.
Even so, she felt her mural was “a very important landmark” for tourists.
Maybe stretching it a little there…
Netizens Debate Over KL Mural Removal
The post garnered much attention, with netizens debating on the removal.
Many lamented the loss of the artwork and encouraged her to keep painting.
A fellow KL street artist said that although her mural was great, the building could have changed ownership and the new owner preferred a clean facade.
Others questioned if she had a permit or contract with the building owner to paint the mural or if she did it illegally.
One commenter added that street art is always temporary, no matter how good, and that she needed to just bear with it and “respect the game” of painting on the street.
There was also a classic Internet helping of xenophobia with netizens telling her to go back to her own country if she wasn’t happy.
Volchkova Was Invited to Malaysia by the Government
According to a Buletin Mutiara interview, the Malaysian government invited Volchkova to the country to paint.
She rented a room in the country without windows or a bed and did the murals for free, having to wait three months for approvals.
“When I was commissioned to do art, the money was only enough for food and stay. And it took so much of my energy away.” She said.
She first started with the “Indian Boatman” and “Indonesian Boy” murals in Penang. Ever since, she travelled around painting murals on various walls.
Volchkova described the negative toll on her health but thanked her Malaysian supporters for being loving and giving her the strength to keep going.
It’s still unconfirmed if the “Goldsmith” mural received similar approval.
While it’s understandable for her to feel pained by the loss of her hard work (like the Word document you spent days on corrupting), ultimately street art is temporary.
Hopefully, she can at least get an explanation for the reasons behind the removal.
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