KOTA KINABALU – World-renowned graffiti artist Kenji Chai has received some attention for what is allegedly his artwork sprayed on what appears to be a bus stop in his hometown of Sandakan.
ISU Sandakan posted a complaint on its Facebook page, claiming that this particular piece is not art but is in fact vandalism.
“ISU Sandakan finds this vandalism from a group that has vandalised many locations in Sandakan and damaged public property.
HENTIKAN VANDALISME DI SANDAKAN ISU Sandakan merasa tidak selesa bila melihat contengan ini dari kumpulan yang sama...
Posted by ISU Sandakan on Saturday, June 11, 2022
“The definition of vandalism is making any changes such as drawings, taggings, paintings, plastering (posters, ads, etc), damaging or dirtying public property without the approval of the authorities.
“Section 427 of the Penal Code states that anyone causing damage worth more than RM25 can be imprisoned between one to five years, be fined or both,” said the statement.
Chai’s trademark, a dog along with the word “Chaigo” all in capital letters, was found on what is believed to be a bus stand.
Chaigo is the artist’s wordplay on his surname “Chai” and the Chinese word for dog “gou.”
Although ISU Sandakan did not name Chai directly, the group implied that the latter has been active in tagging the various locations in town with his work.
So far, the post had garnered over 503 comments and over 170 shares.
Many slammed ISU Sandakan and defended the artwork with some describing it as a mural instead of vandalism.
Insomnianism MY said: “This is a beautiful original mural work from local Sandakan artist Kenji Chai. Kenji is already internationally recognised as a mural artist.”
Dyg Fadzurainah Awg Kassim added: “Kenji Chai has collaborated with Swatch and local brand dUck (Vivi Yusof). Admin should have researched this first. Sandakan folks should be proud of (Chai).”
The Vibes has tried reaching out to Chai on his social media platforms but have not received any responses at the time of writing.
Apparently, many local artists who knew Chai personally had also confirmed that the Chaigo trademark was indeed his.
The Sandakan-born graffiti artist began his career back in 2018 and his passion has led him to international stardom, with his works being spotted in various cities like Miami, Beijing, Singapore, Tokyo and New York.
His latest artwork saw him teaming up with Hotlink for the bikinsampaijadi project, a massive mural painted on the side face of Wisma Sabah here in 2022.
Chai also collaborated with Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia in 2020. – The Vibes, June 13, 2022
