By Kenny Zhang

The 2020 Vancouver Mural Festival (VMF) has come to a close, but its legacy of images, messages, and courage is far from over. Love all Your Neighbours is one of such everlasting messages that every one of our neighbourhoods should embrace before, now and forever. 

Located in Vancouver’s Marpole community, Love all Your Neighbours is an art piece created by artist Jocelyn Wong during the fifth year of the VMF, which ran from August 18 to September 7. Over three weeks, Wong and other artists added 60 new murals in nine neighbourhoods across Vancouver. The city has accumulated a collection over 250 murals since the VMF was launched in 2016.

The year 2020 has been as miserable and malicious as the coronavirus, social virus and political virus alike repeatedly attack global human communities and local neighbourhoods at home. The VMF brought a unique opportunity for gifted artists, passionate participants, and general public in the city to reflect and rethink what the nature of human beings should be and what our neighbourhood relations should be like. 

A well-designed mural is a mirror image, through the artist's eyes, of a particular angle or moment about the nature, creature, or culture in the past, present, or future.. Through its lines, shape, color, texture, and space, artists set the tone by drawing flowers, trees, and forests, by sketching eyes, faces and bodies, or by drafting windows, buildings, and communities. 

Wong’s painting is centred by extra-large artistic letters of Love all Your Neighbours, surrounding colourful flora to showcase the diversity of the plant kingdom. It is such a powerful symbol to emphasize the beauty of loving people no matter who or what they are.

Viewers may not appreciate a mural because they have different tastes in colour, shape, or lines. Viewers may forget a picture because they ignore some details of it. Viewers may also dislike the painting because they prefer to have it placed in a different space or location. Even much worse: the image is going to fade as Vancouver’s winter rain may wash away the colours and lines. But a powerful message will last much longer. 

There is no better voice than Love all Your Neighbours to afford our severely virus-infected society some healing panacea.

“I chose to focus on a message of love, especially in this time of global turmoil and all-around craziness.” Wong explains her reflection and interpretation from such a thematic creation, “The origin of the quote is from the Bible, but I felt that the message was applicable to everyone. Through unrest, injustice, and a pandemic, focusing on loving others can only make the world a better place.”

Born and raised in Vancouver, Wong is an art designer, letterer, and illustrator strong attached to the community. She participated in the VMF, which has historically involved incredible talents from around the world, placing her remarkable work in the Marpole neighbourhood where she spent much of her childhood.

Painting a mural was not as easy as many may think. It took her nine full days and three half-days to complete the work.

“On my first day, filled with first-day jitters and stress about logistics, I was shouted at by some residents of the neighbouring condo—they wanted me to stop painting and they preferred to look at a plain brick wall than my art,” says Wong.

Facing to the threat of being forced to stop the art work, it was a lot for her to handle emotionally on the very first day. But the VMF team was quick to support Wong in every way and to reassure her that she was not in the wrong.

Wong also received support from her parents. Without Wong noting, her father and mother came to the site many times to take pictures of their daughter’s mural and to record the progress of the artwork.

Perhaps, love can be inherited and spread.

“My message was important,” Wong repeats. “It ultimately made me surer of the work I was doing as I continued to paint. It helped that the words I chose to paint felt like a perfect clap back. Love ALL your neighbours, even these ones who are mean to you.”

Wong’s message and courage also prompted my memory of a respectable Canadian, Jack Layton, whose entire life inspired many fellow citizens in this country. Once he said, “Love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic.”

Not everyone is familiar with the Bible as people may worship different gods. Some may also tend to forget what the Bible says about love.

Wong’s mural comes as another heartfelt reminder. Let’s embrace love not hatred, harmony not calumny, and hope not horror.