We Need To Talk

Art and ideas travel fast these days. But when artworks cross commercial boundaries – plucked from their original contexts and placed onto products, ad campaigns, and aircraft livery – the creator is too often left behind.

We Need To Talk is an exhibition about creative ownership and the quiet, persistent exploitation of artists’ work in commercial contexts. It shines a light on how original artworks are reused and profited from without consent, credit, or fair compensation. 

For us, this issue hits close to home. In 2012, artist Ernest Zacharevic painted a series of murals around George Town, Penang. His works – Kids on Bicycle among them – have become a celebrated part of the city’s identity. In the years since, those images have appeared on everything from corporate advertising to commercial spaces – often without permission, proper credit, or fair compensation. Zacharevic’s efforts to communicate with such brands have been met with denials, unsatisfactory terms, and canned corporate shrugs instead of meaningful dialogue. His experience speaks to a wider pattern: of powerful corporations ignoring basic artists’ rights. 

Art isn’t made to sit quietly in frames. It’s born from defiance, from culture, from place. Each time uncredited work is turned into a cold corporate asset – often by airline, fashion and F&B brands that fiercely protect their own trademarks – it silences the artist and severs the work from its roots. This isn’t edgy. It’s exploitation.

Unfortunately, most independent creatives lack the financial resources or legal support to fight back. Proceeds from We Need To Talk will support Ernest’s pursuit of fair recognition, with the aim of setting stronger precedents and protections for creatives across Southeast Asia. Your contribution fuels our collective call for greater respect, accountability, and conversations.

We Need To Talk unfolds in four parts. First, we start on home turf, spotlighting how local artists often struggle to speak out. Overseas, creators are successfully forcing accountability, reminding us that the law is meant to protect creative rights. Second, we examine the unseen costs of creativity and the myth of the “starving artist”. Third, we define the creative rights of artists. Finally, we ask how we can move toward mutually-meaningful collaborations.

A fundraising initiative will support Zacharevic’s pursuit of legal justice, with the aim of setting stronger precedents and protections for creatives across Southeast Asia. Boarding passes can be purchased online via: [LINK COMING SOON]

We’d like to welcome you on board.