Penang is already well-known for its street art or wall graffiti by Ernest Zachervic. Some are painted on worn-out walls while others are created out of iron bars within its Heritage Enclave . Recently, Johor Baru too, hit the headlines for its controversial wall graffiti. However, a bit less well-known to many, is that Ipoh too has its share of street art and came up with its own version. However, the street art of Ipoh is only found on the walls along a back lane, between Hugh Low Street (Jalan Sultan Iskandar) and Hume Street (Jalan Masjid Panglima). It seems these are the work of an art teacher, Eric Lai and his students. Generally, they are centred around the theme of games children used to play and other common local economic activities which were carried out in the past.
This a drawing of a rice farmer riding a water-buffalo, which was a very common sight in the rural areas a few decades ago. Today, not many farmers use buffaloes. Tractors and modern machines have replaced them
This is a picture of a lady rice farmer carrying a sickle. Again, this was very common in the past, but now harvesting is mostly done by machines.
A fisherman landing his bountiful catch.
Young men and their lion dance.
Another favourite hobby of young people in the past - keeping fighting . There used to be a lot of fighting fish in the padi fields and the nearby ponds. My cousin, Ah Chai, used to claim that the best fighting fish are those from the rice fields of Thailand. They are the best fighters. These fish just can't stand the sight of another of its kind. The moment one is put into a jam jar with another, both will change into dark colour and fins, gill covers expanded. Watching these fish fight could be quite a experience for the uninitiated. Almost immediately, they really tear at each other, usually leaving the loser dead. Do children of today still challenge each other to a fighting fish fight? I don't know. I have not seen any children carrying fighting fish in plastic bags or jam jars around to visit friends anymore.
Then, we have a Malay cultural activity here - kuda kepang. This is a kind of hobby horse performance that is a popular form of dance in Johor.
A zoomed-out view of the back lane. Notice the emptiness - unlike in the past, now there is no children running around, playing games and shouting at the top of their voices. In the past, for most of the children in towns, the back lanes were their playground. .
An Indian classical dancer is depicted here.
Children playing hide-and-seek. This was something we used to see at back-lanes, but not anymore.
The children telling the viewer not to reveal where they are.
Ah! So that boy on the left is supposed to seek the others.
Boys won't let the girl join them
Another common economic activity in the past. Mining for tin ore. Panning or dulang washing, as it is called, locally.
This looks like another old favourite game of chicken and the fox. The mother hen is supposed to protect the chicks from the fox.
Blowing soap bubbles using bottle-cap openers.
And, on sunny days - children used to cycle to the nearest stream or waterfall for a swim. Their bicycles are on the left.
From the drawings I get the general impression that the artist is trying to preserve memories of his childhood days on the walls of this memory lane. Maybe he used to stay there. Anyway, it is a job well done, indeed. Let's hope he and his students will continue to add more pictures like these to the existing ones. Like they say, every picture has a story to tell. I'm sure, for every one who was a child in the 1950's - 1970's era, can identify with these drawings and will have their own story to tell to their children and grandchildren who otherwise may find these drawings quite meaningless.
