Penang's Bikes, Bicycles, Motorbikes......

Bicycles made into street art

Bicycle Sculpture

Family/Tourist Cycle

Returning from the market passing motorbike as street art

Bicycle for going to market each morning

Motorbike carries produce bought at the early morning fresh market

Parking a bicycle in front of a shop on the 5 foot way

A 3-wheeler for carrying BIG loads

Motorbike with added carrying baskets

Modern bicycle with the ubiquitous plastic carry bag

Traditional fortune teller and customer beside a new motorbike

Trishaw taxi

Handy for getting out to the market and back without getting stuck in traffic jams

Reproductions of restored old rickshaws

Motorbike as art

Bike art up high

New and old

Different baskets and trays are attached to motorbikes to carry specific products

Moveable shop - fresh coconut milk and meat for sale

George Town, Penang, Street Art, Malaysia

'Marking George Town started off as a competition initiated by the Penang State Government to physically brand George Town as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In 2009, an international competition was held aimed at exploring innovative ideas in art and design for public spaces in George Town.'

Cannon Hole

A canon shot fired during the 1867 Penang Riots made a large hole in this area, hence the name. Location: Lebuh Cannon.

'Out of the 40 entries within the country and from abroad, sculptured work triumphed with its design concept of 'voices from the people'.

Bullock Cart Wheel

In the days when your money could be as "big as a bullock cart wheel", this was a popular rest stop for limousines of the time. Location: Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling.

'Subsequently, 52 unique and humorous illustrations in the form of iron rod sculptures were installed against the city's building walls.'

Double Role Fire! Fire!

'Up until 1909, the police doubled as George Town's firefighters. Location: Gat Lebuh Chulia.'

The fire hose attached to the wall has been incorporated into the understanding of the sculpture.

Quiet Please

'To the dismay of parishioners of the Portuguese church there, Church Street also housed the headquarters of the notorious Ghee Hin secret society. Location: Lebuh Gereja.'

In the hot humid equatorial climate the steel sculptures are aging well and can still be seen clearly while the walls age and develop an attractive patina.

Roti Benggali. Kulit asing?

'Roti Benggali came from the word, 'Penggali' (shareholder' in Tamil). Location: Lebuh King.'

The humour and style remind me of the work of the famous Malaysian cartoonist Lat.

Cheating Husband

Location: Love Lane.

Shadows cast by the art on to the walls at different times of the day add a changing dimension to the works.

High Counter

'The counter of the pawnshop is typically higher for security. Location: Lebuh Camarvon.'

Boy on Chair

'In the George Town Festival 2012, Earnest Zacharevic was commissioned to paint a few murals...Since then, a few other artists have also contributed to the current street art popularity in George Town.'

These murals are popular photo opportunities with people participating making it a tableau vivant, a living picture. 

Old Motorcycle

Location: Lebuh Ah Quee.

Like the chair in the previous mural, the actual motorcycle is real. The art work is titled after the motorcycle but it is the boy that has been painted.

We stayed in the Spices Hotel, an award winning renovated building. A guest, a Russian woman, painted this 2 story mural on the wall beside the stairs up to the second floor

She also painted a portrait of this well known 'street' person. She chose to tuck her under the roots of an ancient tree that has become part of the wall.

Bruce Lee

Location: Lebuh Ah Quee

The picturesque decaying walls are so much part of each mural.

Elizabeth stands beside a mural. I couldn't find out anything about this one. It is just one of so many waiting to be discovered down narrow lanes, on pillars and high up on walls.

There was also more graphic art work.

The work on the left could be considered graffiti in style and purpose.

Sebastian waited by this wall art to make sure I didn't miss it as I tried to take photographs and keep up with the family group.

There is so much to see and do and explore in George Town, all within walking distance.

Each day I had to pick a theme or 2 to focus on otherwise I would have been in a constant state of sensory overload. What a wonderful place.

New Work in Small Expressions and South Shore Gallery

'Currency'

I have a series of new small works currently out there in CACSP's Tulista Gallery exhibition 'Small Expressions' and VISDA's 'Current Threads: Garden Tapestry' at South Shore Gallery.

'Currency'

'Currency' is about how many early tribes first used shells for money when trading commodities. 

The most common shell was the cowry, (Cypraea moneta) but other types were recognised and used in trade.

'Currency'

One of the most influential commodities that drove early trade and established the first trade routes caused wars and stimulated government laws was textiles.

I put the shells on silk, one of the most highly prized textiles.

The silk used in 'Currency ' is hand spun, hand woven wild silk I bought back from a textile tour of NW India.

The horn frames reference the on-going illegal commodity trade of rhinoceros horn with China leading to the near extinction of the animal.

'Currency'

These cowry shells are on a silk textile with a gold coloured frame.

Gold is a commodity many are familiar with and it was probably the first international currency.

These two exhibitions gave me the opportunity to explore an idea. What is the simplest way I could tell a story? I challenged myself to take a complex story and to pare it down to the minimum of elements needed to tell the story.

Real-time Update: February 2016

Most of my blog posts are about events that happened some time ago. I focus on telling a chronological story because my blog is a journal.

However, I have decided to make the occasional post in real-time to document what I am up to in the present. So here goes - my first Real-time Update.

In my studio, I am working with buttons, lots of buttons. After sorting washing and placing them, I am sewing them onto a ground with the machine. 

Outside the studio, in the studio beds, the first of those spring bulbs I planted as soon as the garden beds were constructed, have popped out of the ground. They are the hyacinths.

About the same time as planting the bulbs, I planted a green manure mix of seeds and compost over the hugelkultur beds. The seeds the birds didn't take have germinated and the remnants the deer have left after their nightly grazing have turned into a green fuzz now the days are warmer.

We have had 40% more rain this winter than in any other we have experienced since we moved here. The damp conditions are ideal for rotting away the leaves while leaving their skeletons. I am collecting some of them for a work called  'Earth Repair.'

So that is what has been happening inside and outside the studio, today.

Jane Davies' 'Big Fat Art' Workshop

I attended a Jane Davies' 'Big Fat Art Workshop, Jane's Blog.

We did many 'technique' exercises working quickly on large sheets of inexpensive paper.

It was all about layers using many different media and working quickly to stop over thinking it.

A sampler recording how to block out large shapes with different edges.

An exercise in breaking all the design rules. Every added element had to be different in shape, colour, placement etc.

I have never been shown how to work properly with acrylics but this didn't stop me.

I made some ugly pieces but learnt a lot doing each exercise.

We all worked hard and fast and it was very freeing.

Thanks Jane for a great workshop.