| Ernest Zacharevic was born in 1986 in Lithuania. He is a multidiscipline contemporary and public artist based in Penang, Malaysia. Most people don't know his name, but they do recognise his paintings of children, chair ,... on the walls of aged buildings. Zacharevic creates oil paintings, installations, sculptures and spray paint to produce culturally relevant compositions both inside gallery space and in the arena of public art and walls. Zacharevic received worldwide recognition after creating a series of six street art murals for the George Town Culture festival in Penga, Malaysia. These images shows the everyday Malaysian life using local people as the models. The two most popular are Children on Bicycle and Boy on Motorcycle. These murals now stand as cultural landmarks in George Town. In 2013 Zacharevic received viral attention for his on-street work with the controversial lego mural in John Bhru, home to Malaysian "Legoland". Using the lego figures, Zacharevic comments on the violent state of JB. In 2014 Zacharevic opened his second solo show in Barcelona at Montana Gallery. Tourists like to go and see his artwork troughout Georgetown. Zacharevic ones said in a interview: “I’m really flattered that my art, and art in general, could have such an effect on a community, an area, in a city itself. On the other hand, it brings in a lot of dramatic dynamics . Suddenly, street art is attracting so much (attention),” he said. “A lot of local businesses depend on it now. Organisations explore it, exploit it and find a way to depend on it. Many locals are concerned about the quality of the art, which goes public at the moment and the traffic it attracts. It has good and bad, nevertheless, it’ll be interesting to see the change.” |