Prague's Lennon Wall Vs Pillars of Sabah

The urge to scribble on walls or any exposed surface is as old as human civilization. Had not the prehistoric people scribbled and drew on cave walls and rock faces, anthropologists would not get a glimpse of the lives of these prehistoric people!

Any attempt to stop people from drawing graffiti around the many plain walls in cities is doomed to fail. It is after all human nature to scribble and draw. For the upcoming artists, graffiti is probably one way of seeking recognition of their talents. For the political and social activists, graffiti is a way of expressing their sentiments and getting their voices heard without making public their identities.

Artists started painting on a wall soon after the 1980's assassination of John Lennon in a secluded square not far from the western end of the Charles Bridge in Prague. The artwork was a mean of protest against the government of the day then. No matter how hard the secret police tried to suppress these graffiti artists, that desire of people could not be extinguished. The Velvet Revolution at the end of 1989 signaled the end of communism in Czechoslovakia. By 1 January 1993, the Velvet Divorce split Czechoslovakia into two nations - the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Lennon Wall thereafter became a pioneer for activism worldwide.

On 24 November 2014, the 25th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, the wall was painted over in pure white by a group of art students leaving only the words "Wall is Over". The Knights of Malta, the owner of the wall initially filed a criminal compliant for vandalism against the students which they later retracted after making contact with them. Graffiti and murals resumed and the phrase "Wall is Over" is replaced by "War is Over".

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On another note, the Street Art Graffiti Building, an abandoned old government building along Jalan Haji Saman which is left with remnants of old brick walls and grids of columns were favorite site for street and graffiti artists. The place was "unregulated" and anyone was free to come and scribble whatever they liked. Unlike the Lennon Wall, there was no political statement scribbled here. This is understandable considering the government of the day's intolerance to political dissent.

The abandoned old government building once used by
the Income Tax Department.

Immediately after the fatal Sabah Earthquake on 5 June 2015, this place became a temporary memorial for people from all walks of life to pay their respect and to remember those whose lives were cut short prematurely.

In 2018, Sabah-born artist and architectural designer Red Hong Yi and film maker Jared Abdul Rahman gathered together 30 talented artists from Sabah to create artworks collectively called the "Pillars of Sabah". These artists of diverse ages, ethnicity and art styles transformed this abandoned site into an area that celebrates art and community. Each artist was given one pillar to paint on two sides. On one side, the artists were asked to paint an inspiring person (from Sabah) of their choice and on the other their own self-portraits. The finished works were officially unveiled during Malaysia Day on 16 September 2018.

Among the inspiring individuals are
James Wong, a footballer and Penny Wong
who was made a cabinet minister in Australia.

Is this a good move to transform this site to become a kind of art museum? For me who prefer regulated and well planned artworks over "disorganized" graffiti, this is good. Already, one can see tourists flocking to the area to take pictures and selfies. But for graffiti artists, this is bad news because they have one less place to express their frustration, disgust, hope and aspiration.