Local Artist Shares Ancient Stories of Chinese Mythology

I am of Chinese heritage, and as a young child I loved the stories of Greek Mythology. Growing up in the Caribbean I heard local stories of spirits like the Soucouyant and the Douen. My brother scared me with stories of the Moko Jumbie. When I visited Ireland I bought a book of the Irish folk tales. Lately I have been listening to stories of the Japanese Tengu.

I had not heard of, or even considered that there might be Chinese folklore.

I went to the exhibit of Vivian Wenhuey Chen, a local Long Beach artist. She is a friend from the Long Beach - Qingdao Association, a Sister City of Long Beach.

There are paintings from three series she created. My favorite is the ancient legends series in mixed media. Some found objects are included, as are some handmade objects.

Vivian shared the tales of Pangu who created the world, separating the sky from the land (Yin from Yang); Warrior Houyi who shot down 9 of the 10 suns that were scorching the world; the goddess Nuwa who mended the holes in the sky; Lady Chang-i who, bored, flew to the moon and was stuck and couldn't return to earth.

There is also an interesting part of her collection of automatic paintings. It is an established form of Surrealism, where you unconsciously apply pen and paint to paper to create art. Some artists start with an automatic drawing and find the art in the scribbles of the drawing.

The Long Beach Senior Center is located at 1150 E 4th Street, Long Beach, CA. Vivian's exhibit is on display until May 20th 2024.