Muar See: Giant Street Arts of Muar (2017-2025)

Muar is a small town in northern Johor, West Malaysia, with a small population. It is a popular destination for most Malaysians and Singaporeans, especially for pilgrimage. Apart from numerous Chinese and Indian temples, mosques and churches, the town is also popular for its food and pre-war architectures. And street arts flourish since 2016.

After trying local delicacies at Muar Food Street (贪吃街) along Jalan Haji Abu, a little walk to hunt for street arts is good for burning calories. Majority of the murals in Muar concentrates around the town centre, so it is easy to hunt for them. Several of the murals are gigantic, occupying the whole walls of multi-storey buildings. It is hard to miss them.

The giant murals of Muar were mostly completed in 2016 — I first found them in 2017 and revisited most of them until recently in 2025. If you are interested in street arts, do check them out before they weathered out over time.

The Giant Murals

The giant mural below is titled "Loving Sisters", painted by Julia Volchkova, a Siberian artist. It is also recorded in the Malaysia Book of Records as "the largest portrait" in Malaysia.

Interestingly, the elder sister wears contact lenses — it was not obvious in 2017 when the paint was still fresh. As the paintwork fades or peeled away, as observed in 2025, the transparent half-spheres on the girl's eyes became obvious.

Some of Julia Volchkova's artworks can also be found in Penang.

Not too far away, another large-size mural can be found on a wall. "The Bond" was painted by Sabek, a Spanish street artist. The mural depicts the bond between the girl (who probably can't see) and the black tiger. Some of Sabek's works can also be found in Penang.

In a narrow alley besides Public Bank is the mural of a ferry pier with part of a real-life row boat. This is the only 3D mural in Muar — in 2017.

In 2022, the tyres were gone. In 2024, the wooden rowboat was gone — could be due to wear and tear after long exposure to rain and shine or damaged by people climbing onboard it. A new rowboat with people carrying goods was painted to replace the real-life part-boat. And the whole artwork was given a fresh coat of paint.

The following two giant murals are on the walls of a shopping complex (Komplexs Legenda) at the intersection between Jalan Ali and Jalan Haji Abu. You will not miss it if you are gorging yourself along Muar Food Street.

The first artwork (title unknown) is done by Caratoes, a Belgium-born artist with Hong Kong roots. I will just call it the "Opera". Note the paper cranes and the red Malay kite in the mural.

And the second one is titled "The Root of World Furniture". This is a long piece of artwork on two walls that is the work of 4 artists. Check out the two parts of the murals below.

The first part of the mural (above) shows a woodcutter with an axe. The second part (below) shows a Malay man carving a peace of wood.

Further along Jalan Ali, but hidden in the parking lots behind Kwong Siu Building (麻坡广肇会馆), is the mural of an "Action Actress" (刀马旦) in Chinese operas. This is the only mural that cannot be seen from the streets. You will need to know exactly where to find it. Look for a blue building opposite 333 Foodcourt (Medan Selara Tiga Tiga Tiga, 国泰333饮食防) and walk to its rear.

A Tiny Mural in Contrast

Lastly, the following mural is the furthest piece from the town centre. "Bangsa Johor" is painted on the clock tower in Tanjung Emas Park, to the west of the town centre — about 1.2Km away.

Below is a close-up look of the "Bangsa Johor" mural on the clock tower. The mural depicts racial harmony in Malaysia. This is the smallest artwork among all the murals in Muar — a stark contrast to all the large ones. And a tele-zoom lens is needed to get just the mural in the camera view.

That's about all the giant murals, plus a tiny one, in Muar town centre discovered back in 2017. Aside from these, many other artworks had appeared and some disappeared over the years. The good news is: the giant murals are still there (in 2025) — waiting for you to find them. But, time may be running out as the paintwork fades.

The Locations

Next: Johor Bus Guide: Singapore to Muar or Malacca via Larkin Sentral