Julia Volchkova's The Indian Boatman Mural

The Indian Boatman mural (14 June 2014)


The Indian Boatman (GPS: 5.41933, 100.33733) is a mural by Russian mural artist Julia Volchkova in George Town, Penang. This beautifully executed painting graces a wall of a property at 75 Stewart Lane. The mural itself faces Klang Street, which is within the core zone of the George Town UNESCO World Heritage Site, at the junction with Stewart Lane. The building is Clockwise Hostel, a guesthouse on Stewart Lane.

The Indian Boatman is the second mural by Julia Volchkova in George Town. The first is the Child Mural at Prangin Canal, which was done a few months earlier. Both of these have displayed her remarkable talent at capturing human expressions as well as her flair to transfer what was on photograph to the wall.

The project to paint this mural was initiated by a group of Ukrainians. The artist Volchkova was invited by the team to paint according to a sketch after it was approved by the Penang Island Municipal Council (MPPP), as they found her technique to be congruent to the concept. The purpose of the painting is to celebrate the role that Stewart Lane played in the maritime industry.

This connection comes from Sam3pan1 Hang33 , which translates as Boat Alley or loosely as Boatmen Alley. Sam3pan1 Hang33 refers to the narrow branch of Stewart Lane that connects to Chulia Lane, and is one of the narrowest alleyways in George Town. Furthermore, Stewart Lane was also the one time home of the Hainanese Mariners Guide, at 26A Stewart Lane, and which at one time also housed the Penang Heritage Trust.

I visited Julia at the Klang Street site on 7 June, 2014, where she was working on The Indian Boatman. She does not speak English well, but was able to communicate with me that the mural would be completed in another four days. As I observed her work, I was astounded to find that she was able to do the painting merely by looking at the photograph in her hand. There are no guiding lines painting on the wall, to sketch to help her along. And yet she was able to prefectly capture the expression of the subject.

Julie Volchkova working on "The Indian Boatman" mural (7 June 2014)


The Indian Boatman mural, almost completed (9 June 2014)

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