Neon Superstitions is a series of paintings that explore the persistence of belief, ritual, and symbolism in contemporary urban life. Drawing from scenes in Vancouver’s Chinatown, the works feature neon signage, beckoning cats, Guan Gong statues, and shopfront displays — symbols that blur the lines between commerce, faith, and folklore. These icons, often found in everyday spaces, become visual cues for protection, fortune, and justice, especially within diasporic communities.

This body of work reflects a fascination with the tension between the sacred and the secular — between what is seen and what is felt. In one painting, a Guan Gong figure sits beneath a CCTV camera in a retail shop, echoing the Chinese idiom 「舉頭三尺有 神明」(Three feet above, the gods are watching). Elsewhere, cracked windows and glowing mascots appear as quiet signals—offering not answers, but reminders of the unseen.

The paintings suggest that even in a modern, secular world, belief continues to shape how we understand our surroundings. This series marks a shift in Wang’s practice—from still urban landscapes to more symbolic, culturally charged imagery. His earlier works captured the quiet architecture of city life with sensitivity and restraint. In this new body of work, he turns toward visual motifs that carry spiritual, folkloric, or emotional weight. Though rooted in real places, these paintings speak to something more atmospheric—where memory, heritage, and imagination overlap.

MEDIUM(S)

oil paintings and coloured pencil drawings

ARTIST BIOS

Liang Wang (b.1992) is a Taiwanese-Canadian artist based in Vancouver whose work explores themes of cultural identity, urban space, and symbolism. Raised between cultures, Wang draws on his personal background and lived experiences to examine how belief systems, traditions, and visual languages are adapted across geographies.

Wang holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from OCAD University in Toronto. He has exhibited widely across Canada and Taiwan, with selected exhibitions including Art With Heart Auction at Casey House, Toronto (2024); Fragments of Passage at the Centre of International Contemporary Art, Vancouver (2024); Akin x MOCA: An Index at MOCA Toronto (2019); the Toronto Outdoor Art Fair (2019); and the UNTAPPED Emerging Artists Competition at The Artist Project, Toronto (2019). His solo exhibitions include Never Left at Arcade Art Gallery, Kaohsiung (2021), and One Day I Saw the Sunset Forty-Four Times at Northern Contemporary Gallery, Toronto (2018). Wang’s work is held in private collections in Canada, the United States, Taiwan, and New Zealand.