Greetings from Earth

Greetings from Earth is a series of designs and paintings by Victor Ving focusing on the planet that we are all native to. The artwork is inspired by the Greetings Tour project that creates postcard themed landmark murals across the country.

The significance of my artwork centers around themes of identity and humanity. As a second-generation Chinese-American, my personal journey resonates deeply. Although I possessed a grasp of spoken Cantonese, the intricacies of reading and writing Chinese characters eluded me. This fascination with foreign languages may have unknowingly introduced me to the realm of graffiti writing.

Graffiti, rooted in the Latin alphabet, underwent a captivating transformation. The lettering evolved into a stylized form, rendering it cryptic to most of the public. Within this language, a subculture emerged, where we forged unique identities through self-created tags and nicknames. This clandestine world, due to its illicit nature, became somewhat exclusive, often closed off to outsiders.

During my extensive travels, I encountered a recurring dynamic of "locals versus outsiders" that permeated every place I visited. This challenge became particularly pronounced when I embarked on creating public artwork that aimed to authentically represent the essence of each community. Despite living in a full-time RV across America, I faced the perpetual struggle of not being perceived as a genuine "local" upon my arrival. Additionally, as a self-proclaimed native New Yorker, I personally witnessed the exclusionary tendencies of my fellow New Yorkers towards out-of-towners.

The Greetings from Earth series takes a look at the bigger picture and focuses on the fact that we are all one as humans and considered local to this planet. This body of work delves into the concept that, as humans, we are all interconnected, transcending borders and boundaries. Particularly in the United States, a nation fundamentally built upon the rich tapestry of immigrants, this message should resonate deeply. In the even bigger picture, we are just a tiny spec in the greater universe and my hope is that we can all see past our differences and embrace ourselves as one large community here on Earth.

Fast forward many years later, I still primarily use the medium of spray paint to create large scale murals. Instead of doing it under the cover of night illegally, I now proactively work with communities to create meaningful public art that locals can be proud of.

Check out the continuing series based on Mars below. When it comes to travel, this is a place that no human has been to yet but landscape-wise is still very familiar to our own home planet. Perhaps, together we can finally all be considered visitors to this new destination in the future.

Thank you to Genie Canvas for creating an awesome product that allows me to paint large scale using spray paint while being able to easily store and ship the finished artwork.

For Earth themed mural and canvas commissions, you can reach out to us on our contact page!