KOTA KINABALU: Once notorious for prostitution, artistic graffiti has now transformed the image of an alley in Kampung Air where a house has taken centre stage, showcasing artwork from international artists.
Crig Francis, 45, also known as Cracko, began this transformation of the village's local alley by leading a project called Street Stroke-Community Art Collaboration on Lorong Sentosa in Kampung Air.
Locals know all too well about the alley's once tainted reputation, where not many would have been proud to admit they lived there.
But now, residents take pride in belonging to the area, seeing beautiful artwork that Crig had helped to bring in.
Alongside Malaysian artists who have their artwork on display at the house, there are various others who come from Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Brunei, Singapore, the United States, Australia and France.
Crig said that most of the artists, who are experienced and established, came voluntarily at their own expense to express their creativity, free of charge.
One of the murals, featuring Roronoa Zorro and Bartholomew Kuma from the anime "One Piece", was painted by Colin McKinnon, a 38-year-old Australian from Sydney with 15 years of experience.
Typically, he charges his clients AUD5,000 (RM15,000) for similar artwork commission.
"It started when I painted a section of a business premises here (a few months ago) and some had asked whether I would do the same for the rest of the building in the alley as the artwork could fix its tarnished reputation.
"Back in the day, this place was associated with brothels, prostitutes and other things. The mentality (stigmatisation) still stays until today.
"After discussing, all the business owners in the alley agreed to have artists doing the paintings for them," Crig said, adding the project also received financial support from Nippon Paint, Sabah Tourism Board, Sabah Art Gallery, Kota Kinabalu City Hall, tattoo artists and two hotels in the city.
Crig said that the project began at 11am on Saturday and was completed in time for the official launch ceremony by Sabah Tourism, Culture, and Environment Minister Datuk Christina Liew at 10am yesterday.
He added that graffiti, considered as public art, does not require regular maintenance.
"Public art may not last forever, but we will see if the art scene continues to grow as other artists repaint with new artwork in the future."