Artist Installs Giant 4-Story LED Star in Abandoned Building

Jun Ong used steel cables and 500 meters of LED lights to create a gigantic LED star in an abandoned 4-story building in Penang, Malaysia.

Artist Jun Hao Ong used steel cables and over 500 meters (1,640 ft) of LED lights to create a gigantic LED star in an abandoned 4-story building in Penang, Malaysia. The Star is a site-specific installation completed for the 2015 Urban Exchange Public Art Festival.

To see more light installation projects by Ong check out his website. If you want to check out Urban Xchange 2015, check out their official website.

[via The Creators Project]

Artwork by Jun Ong for Urban Xchange 2015

The Curious World of Chicken Beauty Pageants

During his pursuit of a different story in Malaysia, award-winning photographer Ernest Goh chanced upon Ayan Seramas.

Prized for their build, size, behaviour and showmanship, Ayan Seramas are a breed of ornamental chickens raised for their beauty and entered into Chicken Beauty Pageants. Judged on their stance, temperament and quality of their wing, comb and tail, owners of Seramas proudly regard their chickens as warriors or soldiers, ready for battle. Goh explains:

“As a photographer, I am always interested in photographing the human condition. But this human condition does not exist in a vacuum as we share the natural world with animals. My interest in photographing animals is a natural extension of my interest in the human condition, because we are all inextricably linked to each other. We cannot exist without the other. I hope that “Cocks” and my other animal series can in some way encourage us to reflect upon our relationship with animals.”

The fascinating photo series has culminated in a 96 page hardcover book entitled, Cocks. There’s also a great 5-minute behind-the-scenes video with Goh that explores this subculture (embedded below). For more, be sure to check out Goh’s amazing photography at the links below.

[via Huffington Post]

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Exploring the World of
Chicken Beauty Pageants with Ernest Goh

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Picture of the Day: The Temple Cave of Batu

THE TEMPLE CAVE OF BATU

Photograph by TREY RATCLIFF | stuckincustoms.com

Batu Caves is a limestone hill which has a series of caves and cave temples in the Gombak district, 13 kilometers (8 mi) north of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It takes its name from the Sungai Batu or Batu River, which flows past the hill.

The cave is one of the most popular Hindu shrines outside India and is the focal point of the Hindu festival of Thaipusam. Since 1892, the Thaipusam festival in the Tamil month of Thai (which falls in late January/early February) has been celebrated there.

Rising almost 100 meters above the ground, the Batu Caves temple complex consists of three main caves and a few smaller ones. The biggest (shown above) is referred to as Cathedral Cave or Temple Cave, and has a very high ceiling featuring ornate Hindu shrines. To reach it, visitors must climb a steep flight of 272 steps. At the base of the hill are two more cave temples, Art Gallery Cave and Museum Cave, both of which are full of Hindu statues and paintings. [Source]

The photo is from Trey Ratcliff’s trip to Kuala Lumpur/Malaysia. You can find the entire album on Flickr. Trey runs the super popular Stuck in Customs website and is one of the most famous travel bloggers in the world.

via Trey Ratcliff on Flickr

Picture of the Day: The Petronas Towers

THE PETRONAS TOWERS

Photograph by SomeFormOFhuman on Wikimedia Commons

The Petronas Towers are twin skyscrapers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. They were the tallest buildings in the world from 1998 to 2004 until surpassed by Taipei 101 (which was eventually surpassed by the Burj Khalifa in 2010). The towers were designed by Argentinian architect César Pelli. The towers have 88 floors and the building reaches a height of 451.9 meters (1,483 ft). The total cost was $1.6 billion USD.

This photo was created in multiple shots and was shot with a Canon EOS 400D (Rebel XTi) using Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM Zoom Lens to form a single vertical panorama of the Towers. 12 images were taken from top to bottom in Landscape view systematically. All 12 images were later Photomerged in Photoshop CS4. [Source]

via SomeFormOFhuman of Wikimedia Commons

This Interactive Street Art in Malaysia is Brilliant

Ernest Zacharevic is a Lithuanian street artist currently living in George Town, located in the province of Penang, Malaysia. As part of the George Town Festival that runs from June 15 – July 15, Ernest has been putting up some incredible street art all around the city.

The piece getting the most buzz online has been his artwork featuring two kids painted on a wall. He then strategically placed a real bike in front of the wall which not only gave the piece a three dimensional feel (that you can physically touch), but encouraged people to interact with the artwork and use their own creativity to put their personal spin on it.

The results have been spectacular, and the street art on Armenian Street has generated over a hundred submissions to Ernest’s Facebook page. You can check out the entire gallery here on Facebook.

The photos below are some of my favs along with three other pieces Zacharevic has done for the George Town Festival. Keep up the awesome work Ernest!