Kids who inspired Penang’s iconic murals reunite with artist

All the Tan siblings wanted was to get on a big red bicycle and have a bit of fun. Little did they know that they would be immortalised in an iconic mural in Penang, which became one of Malaysia’s most well-known tourist attractions.

Tan Yi and her younger brother Tan Kern are the two children depicted in the Children On A Bicycle mural in Lebuh Armenian, painted by Lithuanian artist Ernest Zacharevic in 2012.

At that time, they were five and three years old respectively.

Twelve years later, on Oct 19, they were reunited with Mr Zacharevic after the artist finished the restoration of the mural, together with three other pieces of wall art.

Also present at the reunion in Penang was Mr Mohammad Shahrul Aiman Mohamed, 23, who was the source of another of Mr Zacharevic’s famous murals, Boy On A Bike.

All three were born and bred in the northern Malaysian state.

Tan Yi, now 17 and a Form 5 student (equivalent to Singapore’s Secondary 5), told The Straits Times over the phone that she and her brother had accompanied their parents one Sunday afternoon in 2012 to an outing with a group of urban sketchers at the Goddess of Mercy temple on Penang island.

Mr Zacharevic, who was part of the group, had brought along a red bicycle.

The children took a liking to the adult-sized bicycle, and although it was too big for them, that did not stop them from clambering onto the vehicle.

“We saw the bicycle and thought it was fun to climb on it. I vaguely remember thinking how we could ride it, and whether we could go fast on it. We were playing and laughing,” Tan Yi said.

Tan Kern, now 15, said that Mr Zacharevic went on to take a picture, which became the source of the famous mural.

“It was a candid shot,” the teenager added.

In both the picture and the mural, Tan Kern is riding pillion and hugging his sister tightly, his eyes closed, and his mouth opened in excitement, while a smiling Tan Yi has her legs dangling off the pedals.

The siblings’ father, Mr Adrian Tan, said Mr Zacharevic told him he wanted to paint the children as part of his series of murals on the streets of Penang.

“I said why not, it resonates with all of us - this pure innocence, which is why the mural is so popular with people,” he said.

Tan Yi said most of their family and friends are aware that they are the children in the mural.

“My friends do talk about it sometimes and they’ll say ‘this is the bicycle girl’, or they’ll want to take pictures with me and the mural,” she said.

Mr Mohammad Shahrul was 11 and learning to play the yo-yo outside his house when he unexpectedly became Mr Zacharevic’s source for Boy On A Bike mural.

“There was a motorbike next to the wall on the street. I put on the helmet, got on the bike and he took a picture,” he told ST.

“I was very excited to see myself in the mural,” said Mr Mohammad Shahrul, who currently ferries tourists around Penang on a trishaw.

His parents initially did not believe he was featured in the mural but his elder brother met Mr Zacharevic to get the confirmation.

“I never expected the mural to become so famous,” he said, adding that he was heartened to see the murals - having faded over the years - being restored.

Over the years, Mr Mohammad Shahrul had brought friends and tourists to the mural to show them that he is the boy in the artwork.

“They’ll get excited and want to take my picture with the mural. Some told me that my face remains the same, and there are those who will buy souvenirs and ask me to sign on the items,” he added.