Lego Mural by Ernest Zacharevic

November 12, 2013 | 2

UPDATE:

As expected, the authorities in Malaysia have whitewashed the mural from the wall. Not entirely surprising, but pretty sad at the same time.

Of course that meant I had to update my Lego depiction of the entire saga as well.

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Here’s a funny story back home in Malaysia that caught my eye.

Renowned mural artist Ernest Zacharevic recently made the headlines in Malaysian papers after completing this provocative piece of street art in Johor Bahru, close to where Legoland Malaysia is located.

Ernest, who clearly takes inspiration from famed street artist Banksy posted up this image on his Facebook page with the caption “JB, home of Malaysia’s very own Legoland.”

The image clearly pokes fun at the two things Johor, Malaysia’s Southernmost state is famous/infamous for – Legoland Malaysia and it’s perceived astronomical violent crime rate. Think of Johor Bahru as Malaysia’s very own Detroit.

Word got out and Ernest received national media attention which caused the Malaysian authorities to grumble and get fidgety, making statements such as “the painting of the knife-wielding man gave a negative image, especially for tourists. However, he added that it was up to the local authorities to decide whether it wanted to repaint the wall.”

Ernest then photoshopped a bouquet of flowers onto the robber and sarcastically added in the Visit Malaysia 2014 logo into the photo as a tongue-in-cheek retort to the media attention and statements from the authorities.

Personally, I think this entire episode is hilarious. I like the piece of art that Ernest came up with and the message it attempts to send. You can’t deny it has provoked conversation and debates about crime, which is what any effective piece of art sets out to achieve.

I liked it so much that I made my very own version using Lego bricks.

If you’re in Johor and you want to check the mural out, you can find it on Google Maps here.