A Russian artist has generated online debate after she took to social media seeking answers over a mural she had painted in 2016 in Kuala Lumpur being covered up with white paint.
The mural, named 'Goldsmith', was located on the side of a two-storey building in Jalan Panggung and depicted a bespectacled man in a white singlet hammering what appears to be a nail into an object.
The artist, 36-year-old Julia Volchkova, took to Instagram on July 16 to express her confusion and sadness over the removal of the mural.
“I’m in Kuala Lumpur, I was walking around and look at that. It’s so sad ... they covered my painting. We are crying,” she said in a video.
Volchkova said in the caption she did not know why the mural was removed and pleaded for an explanation.
“If anyone knows the real reason, please tell me,” she wrote.
“(It is) painful because my art is my children. It’s a part of me. Creating this work was very difficult, in unbearable conditions.”
According to the local media, Volchkova took four days to complete the painting in April 2016.
She noted that many street artists face the issue of their murals being painted over.
“Of course, I know the kind of rules of street art. If you paint on the street, be prepared for your work to be painted over,” she said in her Instagram post.
According to her Instagram account, she has also painted other murals in KL, as well as in states like Selangor and Penang.
Netizens were split in their opinions over the removal.
Among the over 950 comments on her post as at 10am on July 19, some offered their sympathies while others accused her of not seeking permission from the building owner before painting her mural.
“It’s sad but... do you have (a) permit for it? Contract? Agreement with (the) owner etc? If no, then you should expect it to be destroyed by certain people,” said one user.
Others speculated that the building may have changed ownership in the eight years since it was painted.
“What you did was indeed amazing. However, throughout the years, the building might have changed ownership and (the) new owner preferred a clean facade,” said one netizen. - The Straits Times/Asia News Network
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