There are not many street arts in the city centre of Kuala Lumpur, as the capital city of Malaysia has a small and compact area of pre-war buildings — there is hardly any walls suitable for painting. Street arts that can be found in KL are also pretty scattered (or sporadic) or otherwise located in areas that are inconvenient for travellers. And there are more graffiti than street arts.
Below are some street arts that can be found around Petaling Street in Kuala Lumpur's Chinatown.
1. Rage Against the Machine - GONE!
If you have seen two murals in Penang with a bicycle and a motorcycle and another mural in Ipoh with a trishaw, it will not be difficult to guess the artist behind this mural. Yes, it is none other than Ernest Zacharevic, the Lithuanian artist who started the street arts revolution in Malaysia in 2012. This time, he used a dilapidated school bus.
"Rage Against the Machine" supposedly has 7 school children carrying out certain actions around the burning bus, but is left with 6 now. A "boy" standing near the rear wheel of the bus is gone. Only a wooden pole is left standing in it's place. And this artwork is barely one year old (completed in November 2016).
As the mural is located in a car park, the best time to take a photo without cars is in the morning before the cars come in. But if a car is already parked there, try to make it look like the car had rammed the bus.
I missed Ernest's first artwork, "Girl in a Boat", in Kuala Lumpur, which is some distance away from Jalan Petaling. It was said to be in Jalan Gereja — well, maybe next time if it will be still be there.
2. The Big Rooster - GONE!
"The Big Rooster", on Nando's restaurant along Jalan Pudu, is the work of Kenji Chai, a local artist. Spanning three levels, it is amazing that the rooster can "stay in shape".
3. Pasar Karat
There is only one place to find this "Pasar Karat" mural, that is in Pasar Karat, which is the flea market in the back lane of Jalan Petaling.
The flea market is opened every morning at 6am and sellers will vacate by 9am. If you like to see the actions there, go early in the morning. However, be careful with your wallets and valuables, especially when it is crowded. Girls are advised to avoid the place as there are mostly guys. The back lane will be deserted after the market closed.
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The usual advise for hunting street arts: find them before they are gone!