Museum of The Home has documented the London home throughout history, from periods of industrialisation to its queer and migrant communities that define the city. Recently, they opened an exhibition titled Echoing Whispers: A Treasury of Vietnamese Folk Tales, based on scholar Nguyễn Đổng Chi’s book with the same name. It features hand-painted illustrations by Jeet Zdũng, retelling 11 Vietnamese folktales in inks and gouaches on translucent washi paper.
The treasury involved stories set in small villages along the coast, focused on its villagers of varying class and their interactions with immortal deities. Topped off with a moral lesson that can be learnt in everyday life, these folktales are passed down from parent to child as age-old bedtime stories. They’re imaginative and nostalgic, depicting tragedy, loss and humour, additionally portraying the country’s local customs and traditions.
Zdũng’s illustrations, usually depicting the climaxes of each story, were drawn with the intention to evoke nostalgia. He utilises textures and contrasting colours, taking inspiration from Vietnamese lacquerware and Dong Ho woodcut painting techniques. Using inks and mother-of-pearl inlays to paint an iridescent sea, to mimicking carvings of figures etched on washi paper, the illustrations were all intentional in picturing these ancient folktales, down to technique and compositions.
Most illustrations are set in the backdrop of quaint villages and coastal settlements, where treasures lie beneath the water or where underwater deities take form. There are allusions to the monsoon season; a brawl between the mountain God and sea God. Mortal characters are living harmoniously with nature, and tales bring community and family to the fore.
The exhibition also highlights the contextual history and settings of each tale. Take ‘Tale of the Sandcrab’, about a man who gains the power to speak to animals with roots in Chinese legends. ‘Tale of Mother Liễu Hạnh’, about a Mother Goddess, is a story that has been modified as societal norms changed with time, and outlines Taoist and Buddhist ideals in Vietnam. Notably, the tale of ‘Madame Dupe’, about deception involving a golden turtle, has varying iterations of the tale in Tibetan, Arabic, Indian, Berber and Transylvanian culture. The story of the two sisters ‘Tam and Cam’ is akin to the tale of Cinderella, which has thousands of variants in multiple cultures in Asia, Europe and Africa.
The women in these stories are also portrayed as resilient, cunning and extremely beautiful. From female deities to wives of villagers to princesses, the women are venerated among ancestors and religious spirits– a quality highly valued in Vietnamese culture. ‘A Wise Wife’s Teaching of Her Idiot Husband’ involves a marriage between a son raised in wealth and a clever woman who discreetly teaches him to regain their wealth he gambled away.
In connection to the Museum’s free displays of London showrooms in history, this exhibition fits right into a shelf of childhood bedtime stories. It’s interesting to see what was culturally valued in Vietnamese society at the time, and how these values have changed with society’s needs. It also isn’t surprising to know that a few tales would bring you to reminisce on the tales you were raised on, passed down from parents to children along a string of generations.
Jeet Zdũng does an excellent job of mystifying each tale through colour, letting the ink bleed into one another or forming layers that add depth to a portrait. For a child-friendly museum, his illustrations have the ability to mystify both younger audiences and their parents, who read each tale aloud.
Echoing Whispers: Treasury of Vietnamese Folk Tales is exhibiting until 26 July at Museum of The Home. Click here for more information on the exhibition’s upcoming events with Major Books.
