This Malaysian Artist Is Taking Graffiti to New Heights, Quite Literally

By Danial Martinus  •  20 Sep 2024 in Art

Thirsty for JUICE content? Quench your cravings on our Instagram, TikTok and WhatsApp

What happens when you mix the bold spirit of a graffiti artist with the skills of a rock climber? You get TAZONE—a force in the world of street art who’s not afraid to take things to extreme heights, literally.

We caught up with him to talk about his latest massive project, which just might change the game for urban art in Malaysia.

A ‘blockbuster’ Merdeka

TAZONE’s fascination with graffiti in hard-to-reach places has been brewing for a while.

“I’ve always been fascinated by graffiti that makes people ask, ‘How did they even get up there?’”

Coming from a rock-climbing background, he saw an opportunity to push the boundaries of graffiti. No one in Malaysia had tried something like this yet, so TAZONE figured he’d be the first. And with Merdeka coming up, the timing was just right.

“So I set a date and pulled a team together to make it happen this Merdeka. The first of, hopefully, more to come,” he shares.

But what kind of prep goes into such a massive operation like this, you ask? It’s not like you can just show up and start painting. There was a lot of careful planning involved. TAZONE and his team scouted the building, checking for solid anchor points and figuring out how to safely set up their ropes.

“Of course, I also needed to stock up on paint. Once that was all in place, we were good to go. The area isn’t high-traffic, so it was pretty chill,” says TAZONE.

Even for an experienced climber like him, the “first time” is always a bit nerve-wracking. “But once you’re in the zone, you just go for it.”

The dilapidated building turned canvas is located in Sungai Petani, right next to Complex Cayman. It’s safe to say that it now houses one of the boldest pieces of street art in Malaysia.

Despite the area being relatively secluded, we couldn’t help but wonder if TAZONE had had any run-ins with the law, either during this project or in the past. But it seems the artist knows how to keep things low-key.

Nearly a decade of dedication

Like many graffiti artists, choosing a name wasn’t easy for him. TAZONE admitted he had no clue where to start.

“My real name begins with ‘T’, so I went with that. After messing around with a ton of different letter combinations, nothing really stuck,” he shares. Then came the idea of using A-Z, representing all the letters in the alphabet at once. It clicked, and TAZONE was born.

He’s been at it for eight years now. His love of graffiti spans many different styles, particularly throw-ups and pieces. But he’s also taken a liking to lettering and character combinations as of late. And he’s not one to shy away from variety either—whether it’s tags, throw-ups, or burners, he’s into it all.

“The bigger and more daring, the better,” he says.

For people trying to find a footing in the world of graffiti, TAZONE has one simple piece of advice: “Just get out there and paint.”

“It doesn’t matter what kind of can you’ve got—grab one and start experimenting,” he says.

Keep up with TAZONE’s latest work here.

For more features, head to JUICE Malaysia.