Penang history brought alive via art
By CHRISTINA CHIN, The Star.
Arty work: Tourists admiring the Tok Tok Mee caricature on China Street.
FASHIONISTAS visiting George Town’s heritage zone can now see where luxury shoe designer Datuk Jimmy Choo started his apprenticeship.
The caricature of a woman excitedly admiring a pair of exquisite shoes made by a veteran cobbler and his protege has been installed at Muntri Street.
Aptly titled Jimmy Choo, the steel rod caricature was among eight erected to mark the city’s Unesco World Heritage Site.
The others are Same Taste, Same Look, 3 Generations, Ting Ting Thong, Rope Style, Procession, Tok Tok Mee and Too Narrow.
Sculpture At Work business development executive Tommy Chen said seven wall sculptures were installed on Nov 15.
“The 3 Generations sculpture on Kimberley Street showcases an old char koay teow seller stir-frying a delicious plate of flat rice noodles as a hungry tourist looks on.
“Kimberly Street is famous for its hawker food.
“Some stalls have been here for over three generations,” Chen said when contacted yesterday.
Ting Ting Thong on Seck Chuan Lane is a sculpture of a rock candy seller.
Back in the old days, ting ting thong — a hardened mixture of sugar, sesame seeds and nuts, was a favourite with the kids.
The candyman would chisel and hammer away at the ting ting thong to break it into smaller bite-size pieces as the impatient kids look on.
Chen said Rope Walk got its name from the rope-making activities there hence the Rope Style sculpture was of a mother braiding her daughter’s hair like a rope.
On Armenian Street, the Procession sculpture shows the Tua Pek Kong grand float procession held to wash away bad luck and bring wealth and good health to devotees.
Tok Tok Mee on China Street explains the name of the well-loved dish as the hawker used to knock two bamboo sticks together to attract customers.
“Soo Hong Lane is the narrowest street in George Town so the sculpture — Too Narrow, shows a hand-pulled rickshaw, the most popular form of transportation then, navigating through the street,” he said.
Same Taste, Same Look — a sculpture of traditional Cantonese dim sum restaurants, will be installed soon once a suitable location is finalised.
The eight, designed by cartoonists Tang Mun Kian and Baba Chuah under phase three of the project, are part of 19 sculptures that have been erected at Transfer Road, Market Lane, Love Lane, Chowrasta Market, Acheen Street, Prangin Road Ghaut, Carnarvon Street, Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling, Muntri Street, Weld Quay and Malay Street.
The sculptures installed earlier under phases one and two were Mr Five Foot Way (a small time trader running his business by the five-foot way pavement), Kedai Tuak (a man climbing what he mistakenly thinks is the betelnut palm), Where’s My Husband? (a panicky-looking man climbing out a window dressed only in his shorts), Limousine (an artisan making a paper car effigy for the afterlife) and Waterway (a trader on a small sampan professing his love to a young maiden staring down from her bedroom window).
There were also the sculptures Escape (an escape rope dangling from the window as the building was originally a jailhouse), Bullock Cart Wheel (a bullock cart with antique half-cent coins as wheels), Cow and Fish (a cow running away from the slaughterhouse and a woman chasing after a cat stealing her fish), Labourer to Trader (traders skilfully balancing their wares on their heads), One Leg Kicks All (an amah, or Cantonese domestic servant, going about her daily duties) and Too Hot (sailors crying out for water after tucking into a plate of spicy noodles).
Chen said phase four would comprise 10 designs which have already been submitted to the local authorities for final approval before proceeding with fabrication works.
“We will most likely commence work in January and complete the 10 sculptures by April or May next year,” he said.
A total of 52 sculptures will be put up in stages around George Town by the first half of 2013 to create awareness about the historical and cultural identity of some of the local sites in the city.
The project is by Sculpture At Work, a Kuala Lumpur-based company which won the ‘Marking George Town — An Idea Competition for a Unesco World Heritage Site’ in April last year.
The total cost of the project is RM1.02mil.
The concept of the sculptures was inspired by the voices of the people — funny stories told by locals as how some of the streets got their interesting monikers. [Article link]
admin
5 December, 2011 at 11:31 am
A sense of history unfolding
HATS off to the initiatives to create awareness about the historical and cultural identity of Penang (“Caricatures link heritage” – The Star, Dec 2).
In line with George Town’s status as a Unesco World Heritage Site, such an undertaking in bringing Penang’s history alive is well appreciated.
Reliving the rich past of Penang’s historical moments and myriad cultural diversity goes in tandem with the whole idea of the city being accorded the status.
The wall caricatures are not only an innovative approach but surely a cost-effective way of enriching the state’s attractions.
Truly, I am fascinated by the Jimmy Choo caricature at Muntri Street in depicting the scenario of how this Penang lad who grew up there made it big as a world-class celebrity shoe couturier.
Walking past the street is akin to taking the passage of time as history unfolds. It is a noble way of presenting history visually, and so very interesting. It is surely a feast to the senses.
In capturing the moments, how I wish those fast disappearing age-old artisans and their dying crafts – cobblers, tin-smiths, iron-smiths, bamboo blind-makers and even street barbers – could be economically preserved in making nostalgic souvenir items.
I have seen in countries such as Morocco and Spain how their artisans and craftsmen are specially well treated and taken care of by the authorities. This initiative is to ensure that the craftsmanship and heritage of the country are kept alive, not so much for the sake of tourists but for the generations to come.
Heritage, where history and culture are two of its main components, must be kept alive by all means.
In this regard, Penang has what it takes. Thus, it must be consistently sustained and reinvigorated to live up to its status as a World Heritage City on the Straits of Malacca.
This is a far better move – and one so encouraging – than the
capital idea of making a theme park at the expense of the environment.
This is also the wow factor in many famous destinations of the world where heritage and culture are what makes a repeat visit.
ZARI MALAYSIANA,
Petaling Jaya.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/12/5/focus/10032806&sec=focus