By Mohamad Amirul Idham Mohd Ikhram and Dr Yong Adilah Shamsul Harumain

Graffiti on the walls and streets of Malaysia may make some people feel uncomfortable because they may resemble an act of vandalism or a protest. This is because, it is often associated with the culture of rebellion and often considered or perceived illegal.

Graffiti that is done without permission or without following proper guidelines from local authorities especially at public facilities or at non-authorised public space can be misconstrued as an act of vandalism rather than an act of beautification. Murals, on the other hand, are seen as more positive than graffiti, but both are forms of street art that can be used to send positive messages.

Murals are often made bigger in scale to give a sense of place, especially at schools and on public walls to alleviate the street image as well as to revitalise a dull space or street. However, graffiti have recently been spotted to be use as a technique of street art in numerous Malaysian cities, particularly in areas where artistic expression are needed other than murals.

In Malaysia, there has been a growing appreciation for street arts, which can take the form of graffiti, murals, 3D art, and more. Many cities in Malaysia used street art to revive back lanes, heritage buildings and to improve street identity to attract more people to walk on the street again.

Street art is a diverse and evolving form and varies from graffiti to murals and even sculpture. Nonetheless, without a guideline, graffiti can be a form of vandalism and can be upsetting, particularly when art and images touch the sensitivity of the community and to many, as there are numerous perspectives on the art. Afterall, they say beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.

In Malaysia, graffiti and street art can be tracked in Malaysia since 1990s during the rising of Hip-Hop subculture in Malaysia. This is proven through album arts of early rap and Hip-Hop groups in Malaysia. Their album covers feature graffiti-style elements such as ‘throw up,’ ‘tag,’ and ‘paste-up’.

This is a valid indication that the popularity of graffiti in the 1990s coincided with the rise of the Hip-Hop subculture in Malaysia. Since then, graffiti and street art have appeared as a means to express the voices of the people and have become increasingly accepted. Malaysians can accept graffiti art as a form of urban enhancement. This can be demonstrated as can be seen in Batu Pahat, Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh, Seremban and Penang, among others. In addition, graffiti is now gradually accepted as part of certain brands’ entertainment programme and marketing strategies.

Graffiti in KL

The Greek verb “graphene” (which means “to scrape, draw, or write”) is the root of the English word “graffiti.” Although Roman and Greek ruins have figures and writings on their walls dating back thousands of years, the term “graffiti” only became popular in Philadelphia in the 1960s and New York in the 1970s.

It was thought to have started in the Black and Latino communities, along with hip-hop music and street subcultures, and that the development of the aerosol spray can was what gave it its impetus. Graffiti can range from the most basic form of tagging, which only requires a quick, continuous one-line stroke of an aerosol spray can or paint marker to mark a name, to complex three-dimensional figures, which need numerous line strokes, colours, and angles to create the illusion of depth.

According to Amanda Marie Bunting’s 1974 article, “A Sociological Study of Graffiti in Seville, Spain,” teenagers use “tagging” and “bombing” to mark their names and the names of their gangs to declare their territory, which is how graffiti differs from street art. But in the modern world, graffiti is a common urban phenomenon. In a sociological sense, graffiti symbolises the potential for revolution. Graffiti should be seen as an intervention in daily urban life that aims to use urban space to appeal to the public as well as an act of defiance.

Last but not least, communicating a message is at the heart of graffiti. This can be used to its fullest potential as a tool to strengthen the sense of place. Graffiti can be seen as moral and symbolic challenge to the established order of power. It can also be a sign of identity and an expression of the urban condition of today. Therefore, negative perceptions and attitudes towards graffiti may be a sign of an identity crisis in a particular location.

Mural in Batu Pahat

NOTE: Mohamad Amirul Idham bin Mohd Ikhram is the Fourth year Bachelor Degree of Urban and Regional Planning student, and Dr Yong Adilah binti Shamsul Harumain, Senior Lecturer, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Faculty of Built Environment, Universiti Malaya.