Modernization
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by Laura Goldstein
Photos: Perrin Grauer, Crissy Arseneau
Marlene Yuen
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When Vancouver-based multidisciplinary artist, Marlene Yuen was initially approached to create a mural for the new Chinese Canadian Museum in Vancouver, she was overwhelmed. “I’m a storyteller through years of creating small-scale zines, comics, illustrations, handmade picture books and printmaking,” she relates from her Vancouver studio. So it was a daunting surprise that the project was to be a 30-foot -long by 10-foot -high mural, “though an honour to be asked,” she laughs, and the challenge was encouraged by friends and colleagues.
The Journeys Here is both personal to Marlene and an historical exploration of all Chinese culture and immigration to Canada. A high-quality digital copy of the original mural by Rachel Topham Photography Ltd., is featured in the current travelling Odysseys and Migration Exhibition at the Royal BC Museum, Victoria, April 17th to May 3rd 2026.
“The theme of the project was ‘journeys’ ” Marlene says, “but that was really vague, and for Chinese Canadians, everyone has a different journey. Artists, Sandeep Johal and Crissy Arseneau who worked on the mural with me, brain-stormed and we all came up with many mini murals almost like a patchwork of hundreds of images, she recalls.” They eventually whittled it down to forty-eight that took over a month to paint.
Reminiscent of childhood comics and Pop Art’s integration of everyday objects, each pictorial illustrated in Marlene’s simple style implores us to dig deeper into their meaning to uncover the struggles, aspirations and traditions of Chinese Canadians. A tin of salmon represents Chinese workers who found employment in Steveston’s canning factories; a 1947 ballot box symbolizes the year the Chinese were allowed to vote in Canada; a locomotive reminds us of the Chinese who built the Canadian Pacific Railroad between 1881 and 1884 and the Maneki-neko or waving arm cat brings happiness, good health, wisdom and wealth to the home and business.
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“When the Chinese immigrated to Canada beginning as early as 1788, the government was extremely racist and discriminatory. In 1923 Canada prohibited Chinese Immigration up until 1947 when the head tax was finally repealed,” Marlene relates. “We were not allowed to vote or own land so the only jobs available to us were farming, construction, laundry and restaurants.” Interestingly,“many Chinese developed farming and gardening relationships with the Musqueam Nation in British Columbia who leased land on their reserves to Chinese farmers,” she adds.
Marlene’s work has been exhibited across Canada, the UK and in Japan. She is currently creating a comic for the Burnaby Art Gallery.
Many artists like to embed something personal into their work and I asked Marlene if her mural contained any hidden aspects the viewer could search for. “Absolutely,” she
smiled “My daughter, Ada is a dragon in the Chinese zodiac and I’m a rabbit. You’ll see both but look closely at the rabbit and you’ll find my signature!”
As part of the By Design: A Journey Through Arts and Culture Talk Series, Marlene will present a talk on Books, Zines, Prints and Site-Specific Works on Friday April 25 in the Conference Hall of the Royal BC Museum. Her Art of Printmaking Workshop on Saturday, April 26th is sold-out.