‘We Need To Talk’: Ernest Zacharevic Confronts Art Theft

By Danial Martinus  •  02 Jul 2025 in Events

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

If you’ve ever seen Kids on Bicycle in George Town, chances are you’ve unknowingly stood in the middle of one of Malaysia’s most exploited pieces of street art.

Now, the man behind it, Lithuanian artist Ernest Zacharevic, has had enough.

‘We Need To Talk’

Opening on 5 July at Cultprint in George Town, ‘We Need To Talk’ isn’t your average art exhibition. It’s a conversation starter about something that’s rarely addressed in Southeast Asia: the exploitation of independent artists by corporations who see creativity as a form of free content.

“This is bigger than me—it’s happening to independent artists everywhere,” Zacharevic says. “Most don’t have the legal or financial means to fight back against these large corporations, and worse, they’re under immense pressure to stay quiet. This exhibition is about breaking that silence.”

The space will be transformed into an airport-themed installation. Picture check-in counters, boarding gates, and a Mile High Club launch party—packed with cheeky humour, sharp satire, and a heavy undercurrent of protest.

Beneath the playful packaging (yes, airplane sick bags and mock boarding passes are part of the merch) lies a serious critique on the power imbalance between artists and the institutions that profit from them.

The timing for Malaysians is fitting. This year alone has seen creatives publicly calling out government ministries and major players for allegedly stealing ideas without credit.

Once such voice is Fey Ilyas, a creative strategist who claims his agency’s proposal for a major international project was also misappropriated.

Fey will be speaking alongside Zacharevic and installation artist Jun Ong—another creative whose work has been misused—during a panel discussion on 5 July, the opening night of the exhibition.

We don’t think about the people behind the work enough

It’s easy to appreciate art. We flock to murals, we repost visuals, and we celebrate “local flavour”. But we rarely think about (and acknowledge) the people who made the work in the first place, and whether they were even credited or paid for it.

And it’s not uncommon to see someone’s artwork being plastered all over some merch, without the artist’s consent.

Beyond the art and conversation, ‘We Need To Talk’ will also be offering tools for real change. On 9 and 10 August, the gallery will be hosting an IP clinic offering pro bono legal advice for creatives. It’s all part of a broader fundraising initiative, with themed “Boarding Passes” available for purchase onsite and online.

These boarding passes unlock access to limited-edition artworks and other goodies, with proceeds supporting legal efforts to secure stronger artist protections.

At its core, ‘We Need To Talk’ is a celebration of the independent creatives who keep Southeast Asia’s cultural scene alive, often unpaid and unrecognised. To the rest of us, it serves as a wake-up call to really value local art and stop treating it like a free-for-all.

Catch the exhibition from 5 July to 31 August at Cultprint, 35 Lebuh Melayu, George Town.

Admission is free!

For more events, head to JUICE Malaysia.