GEORGE TOWN, Mar 9 – Five Malaysian artists are set to make their way into the Guinness Book of Records by painting the “world’s tallest mural” on Penang’s iconic Komtar building. The World’s Tallest Mural project, which is sponsored by Only World Group (OWG), will see the artists attempting to paint on the 230-metre mural along the length of the outer metal facade of Komtar’s former bubble lift shaft.
From the bottom up, the mural will feature three Penang dragon boats, the iconic George Town-Butterworth ferry, the Penang Bridge, drawings of Penang folk and heritage building window panes. It will be topped off with a drawing of the sky and a rainbow. The 230-metre mural will comprise four collages showing the essence of Penang – skies, architecture, people and the sea.
Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the state government was proud to support this endeavour, which would definitely put the state on the world map. He said the mural, when completed after six months’ time, would be 230-metre tall, 13.1-metre wide, and would cost about RM300,000. Nippon Paint has pledged to sponsor RM30,000 in paint.
OWG chief executive officer Datuk Seri Richard Koh said they hoped to obtain endorsement of the Guinness Book of World Records for this project. He said the current record-holder for the world’s tallest mural measures only at 70-metre high, but Komtar’s mural would be more than three times its height.
The five artists chosen to undertake the project are Bibichun, The Sliz, Kangblabla, Santana and IMMJN. The artists will work five days a week, eight hours a day on the mural, which will take nearly 1,000 hours of work in total. Painting is expected to start end of this month and will take between five to six months to complete. Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the new mural would further revitalise the landmark.
“The mural will be a visual symbol of Penang’s intrinsic strengths – our beautiful people and rich heritage, and the immense potential that lies ahead for us. I hope that we can celebrate the full completion of the mural by January 2018,” he said when announcing the project at The Top in Komtar here this morning.
In additional, Nippon Paint Malaysia group marketing assistant general manager Alex Yoong Choong Kheong said the artists would be provided with 2,000 Pylox spray cans, 800 litres of paint, in the project. He said about 106 colours would be available, adding that the materials were environmentally friendly.
