By NASA MARIA ENTABAN
alltherage@thestar.com.my

KHAIRUNISSA Zainal Abidin, 23, Muji Lee Mok Yee, 23 and Iron Loi Fuei Siang, 19, are excited about taking part in a major art project, happening this Saturday.

The trio will join 55 other artists for a special mural painting event on one of the old buildings along Jalan Sultan in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, as part of an ongoing StarMetro effort, “Preserve Our Heritage”.

The mural-painting project, which is being coordinated by artist Phillip Wong, will involve 58 artists – over 30 experienced and well-known artists and about 20 students.

Each artist will be assigned a small section of the wall to paint anything they want, as long as the inspiration for their artwork comes from their surroundings and has to do with preserving heritage.

The three young artists each have their own specialty and are figuring out how they’re going to use their individual skills to leave their mark on the wall – Khairunissa is into wood carving, Muji enjoys creating sculptures and installation art and Iron draws and paints.

Khairunissa, Muji and Iron

“I’ve never done a mural before, and I’m excited to be finally feel like what it feels to draw on a wall – my parents never let me do it in the house, growing up,” said Khairunissa cheekily. “I was drawn to this project because I think its important to preserve heritage sites and buildings, and this is one way I can contribute.”

Muji is diving into unfamiliar territory – he does not paint much, but jumped at the opportunity to be a part of this project, as he has always been interested in history and heritage.

“I care about heritage sites, and Jalan Sultan is a very important one in Kuala Lumpur,” said the fine arts graduate.

“I’m very proud to be a part of this project, its a way of doing something for the community.”

Although he has only recently discovered his love for art (throughout school he was more interested in Chinese performance arts), for the past few months Iron has been working on developing his craft.

Even though he hails from Johor Baru, Johor, and previously only visited KL once a year, Iron has always made it a point to visit the Jalan Sultan area whenever he made a trip up.

“The area is rich with culture and history,” said Iron. “It is very meaningful to many Malaysians and I hope through this project people will get to know more about our history.”

He also hopes the project will help highlight the art culture in the country.
“I hope that through the mural painting, people will get more interested in the art culture in Malaysia.”

Artists wait to be inspired, which is why the trio are waiting until Saturday morning, when they are standing in front of their space on the wall, to decide what to paint.

The building the artists will paint on

“Something to do with Malaysian culture and tradition,” said Khairunissa. “I don’t go to Jalan Sultan often, it will be interesting to see what its like.”

Muji, on the other hand, has been thinking about featuring people who have made history like Yap Ah Loy.

“People in the past have done many great things. Many young people today don’t realise their importance, or the importance of heritage sites like Jalan Sultan, and even fewer know their history,” said Muji. “I hope my contribution to the mural this Saturday will help to spread some knowledge about our history.”

* If you want like to witness this historic event, head to Jalan Sultan in Kuala Lumpur between 9am and 1pm on Oct 15, to watch the artists work their magic.