Finding cultural resonance with printmaking

The pre-Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC) foundational text of Chinese mythology, Shanhaijing (The Classic of Mountains and Seas), catalogs several mythological creatures that combine the bodies of birds and fish — some considered positive symbols and others bad omens. For example, the wenyao fish is a celestial beast with a carp's body and avian wings, and the text records that it flies at night and its appearance heralds a bumper harvest.

In his Beijing exhibition debut, Filipino artist Salvador Buds Convocar shows his own rendition of the wenyao fish — a work titled Fishbird — but in a different cultural context. An integration of printmaking and collage, the piece depicts a colorful fish with a bird's wings, beak and feet.

Convocar says he was inspired by and has borrowed the term chimera, from Greek mythology, which refers to an imaginary creature that combines parts of different animals. In his work, the creature's big, round eyes, together with its high spread wings and claws that grip the ground tightly, convey a vibrancy that connects one with the varied beauty of the Philippines' natural topography, its chill beaches, and the archipelago's culture and biodiversity.

The distinct chemistry between Convocar's chimera and the land where the wenyao fish was imagined millennia ago ushers visitors into an interplay of past and present, at the crossroads of different civilizations, when viewing Imprints of Civilization: China-ASEAN Printmaking Exhibition, where Fish-bird is on display.

The exhibition, running at Beijing's Today Art Museum until July 8, brings together more than 150 prints by more than 140 artists from China and the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN. The project is sponsored by the Beijing Culture and Arts Fund, a public fund established by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism to mobilize public participation in cultural development.

One of five Filipino artists on show, Convocar has a connection to Chinese art that he hopes to share with his Chinese counterparts. Among his other works, he explains that one, Man Bathed in Moon, uses a unique printmaking technique called chine colle, a French term meaning "using thin Chinese paper to create multiple colors on a plate".

For centuries, printmaking has played a crucial role in the development of artists, regardless of the medium they primarily work with. Celebrated artists such as Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse and Andy Warhol were deeply engaged with printmaking, renewing people's interest in the form as artistic expression.

With Wen Zhongyan and Fu Bin, both from the Academy of Arts and Design, Tsinghua University, as the exhibition's chief curators, the exhibition showcases how artists use printmaking as a vessel for distinctive experiences and shared feelings, as they gaze at the mountains and waters that surround them and the history and traditions that have shaped their everyday lives. Meanwhile, they reflect on urban evolution amid the era's shifting tides and its influence on individuals.

Beihai 2011.7.8, one of the works on display at the exhibition, was created by Wen, who heads the painting department at the Academy of Arts and Design. The painting delivers a nighttime solemnity at Beihai Park, one of Beijing's imperial gardens. Wen used acrylic to depict the landmark White Pagoda on the Jade Islet bathed in nocturnal serenity, as well as the bridge's dim lighting. He also employed silkscreen printing to create dense, nuanced patterns of geometric shapes and numerals throughout the painting.

Wen says he was inspired by a television's repair diagram — "the components' densely packed arrangement reminds me of the maze-like yet orderly structure of Beijing's old, beautiful alleyways", he explains, adding that the distinctively textured surface of the work hints at the marks of time that have been imprinted on the capital.

"I've worked on the Beihai series for nearly two decades. The park's varied hues correspond with the changing climates of the days I visit, and the changing atmosphere of the historical architecture," he adds.

Yan Yan, the executive director of Today Art Museum, says the artists capture the myriad textures of life and the spirit of the times, building a cross-cultural arena that is inclusive, diverse and open to all.

Wen notes the exhibition introduces home audiences to the printmaking art of Southeast Asia, which they are less familiar with.

The exchanges have also expanded beyond museum spaces. Convocar showed how he worked with the chine colle approach during a workshop at the Academy of Arts and Design after the exhibition opening on June 18. He says he once taught at a university for years before becoming a full-time artist.

In November 2025, a printmaking exhibition of Chinese and Thai artists, including some from the Academy of Arts and Design at Tsinghua University and the Central Academy of Fine Arts, was held in Bangkok to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between Thailand and China.