Living Legends:
Exploring Supernatural Forces in Asian Visual Culture
Join us at M+ for the opening talk of the exhibition ‘Myths and Monsters: The Art of Fantasy in Asia’, tracing how supernatural stories have moved across religious, folkloric, artistic, and popular cultures.
How have ghosts, spirits, deities, and mythical beings shaped visual culture across Asia? Held during the opening weekend of the Special Exhibition Myths and Monsters: The Art of Fantasy in Asia, this talk explores the enduring power of supernatural forces in art, storytelling, and popular imagination.
Join artist Oscar Chan Yik Long, whose newly commissioned mural Fear Catcher is featured in the exhibition, alongside Melanie Eastburn, Senior Curator of Asian Art at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney; Ueda Chikaho, Director of Miyoshi Mononoke Museum, Hiroshima; and Sookyung Yoo, Researcher at the Kyoto Seika University International Manga Research Center. Together, they will trace how supernatural stories have moved across religious, folkloric, artistic, and popular cultures—from historical yōkai lore and Buddhist and Taoist cosmologies to manga and contemporary artistic practice.
Drawing on artistic, curatorial, and academic perspectives, the speakers will consider how fantasy is more than escapism: it is a way of confronting fear, giving form to the unknown, and imagining alternative realities. The conversation will reflect on how historic Asian legends continue to animate and transform visual storytelling across the world today.
This talk will be held in English and Japanese. Simultaneous interpretation in English, Cantonese, and Mandarin will be available. Click ‘register’ to sign up for free.
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