Life in 2020 : Recording the Unusual Times Through Art

Moona Wu

Preface

In this picture book, every picture tells a story.
In 2020, the world is full of sadness and turbulence. Many people have experienced the darkest and most shocking time in their lives. I believe everyone has left their own memory for 2020. From the Covid-19 pandemic to the U.S. presidential election, which is the most bizarre and controversial election in American history. I am documenting this extraordinary year through my art works.
I like to use drawings and paintings to express my inner feelings. Sometimes language can’t express all kinds of chaos around us, but artwork has its own power.

Author Bio:

Moona Wu is a published Chinese author and illustrator who has lived in the U.S for more than twenty years. she has published eleven books in China including six novels and two collections of essays and three travel books. She also is a column writer with an American-Chinese newspaper that serves the Chinese community in America. As an illustrator, she has created and published illustrations for newspapers and magazines.

Award:

August Covid Contest Winner from West Baton Rouge Museum, 2020.

Contents

COVID-19 Pandemic
2020 Election
2020 Halloween
Ordinary Life in Extraordinary Times

COVID-19 Pandemic

The Virus and the City 2
In densely populated cities, there are viruses everywhere, but lovers can still find ways to meet.

The Virus and the City 2
When you go out, you must remember to wear a mask. Otherwise, if you are not careful, you may become an angel.

Watch
He is watching her during the pandemic. She always makes excuses to go out.

Escape
You can’t escape the Corona Virus. You have to learn how to protect yourself.

Winter
The virus is still following you in winter.

Winter2
Winter will make the pandemic worse.

Happy New Year
We hope the virus will disappear in the new year. Unfortunately, the virus will come again in 2021.

New Year Vacation
No matter how chaotic the world is, we still need vacation.

2021 Questions
Where can we go in 2021? Can we get rid of all problems and insecurities in 2021.

Dancing Virus
We can’t see it with our naked eyes. The virus is dancing around us.

Dancing Virus 2
Maybe you think you are safe, you don’t know the virus is dancing around you.

No Party
Did you know Coronavirus loves parties. To protect you and your family, don’t go to parties.

Everywhere
Here is a virus, there is a virus, everywhere you go you meet the same virus.

2020 Cruise
Coronavirus attacks cruise ships. Don’t travel in 2020. Staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others.

Coexist
When will the virus disappear? We don’t know. We have to learn how to coexist with Coronavirus.

Laughters and Tears
Many people died during the pandemic. However, some companies have made a fortune by selling plexiglass.

Pray
In China, devout Buddhists pray to Bodhisattvas during the pandemic.

War
My friend Sheryl is a health worker. She has been working very hard during the pandemic. Unfortunately, Covid-19 has infected her. There is a war between health workers and the virus. Let’s pray for health workers.

Together
No matter what your religion, the world needs to work together to fight for the virus.

Behind a Muscadine Vine
This is the story of my friend Tracy. In the spring of 2020, everything she saw looked like a virus. However, behind a Muscadine vine in the city park, she saw something terrible happen.

Work During the Pandemic
Daisy, my friend, is a successful CPA. She runs a tax firm. During the pandemic, she consulted clients and answered questions about pandemic-related relief to the households and businesses.

little mermaid and Mask
You see, little mermaids are wearing a mask made of shells or seaweed. We should also wear masks. If you don’t like to buy it outside, you can make one yourself.
“Little mermaid and mask” was August Covid Contest Winner from West Baton Rouge Museum, 2020.

Mask 2
When little mermaids swim ashore, they will remember to wear masks, but occasionally forget.

Mask 3
Are we ready for the second Coronavirus wave? Please maintain social distancing and wear face masks.

Mask 4
The little mermaid likes the mask made of seaweeds, which were soft and comfortable.

Happy Viruses
What makes those viruses so happy? When the donkey and the elephant began to fight.

Virus Wall
“Virus-Wall” was selected for the virtual exhibition with Huntington Beach Art Center in 2020.
Because of the Coronavirus pandemic, Chinese immigrants in the United States cannot return to China to attend their parents’ funeral.

Who is more Intelligent
“Who is more intelligent” was selected for the virtual exhibition with Huntington Beach Art Center in 2020.
Viruses are very tricky, but humans are more intelligent.

Vaccine
Finally, we get vaccinated.

2020 Election

Election night

U.S. presidential election 2020 is the most bizarre and controversial election in American history. Ghosts and viruses are dancing.

Devil Dance
I love to watch devil dancing.

Ghosts
In those nights, no one knows how many ghosts are dancing.

Thanksgiving 2020
Pray for Powell, the brave goddess, on Thanksgiving.

Heavenly Dog
My friend is the Master Yi Ching. He predictes future for Trump and Biden. The Trump zodiac is a heavenly dog, in which the heavenly dog is going to eat the moon in the rat year. The horse is the Biden’s birth sign. The heavenly horse is going to steps into the sky in the rat year.
No one knows whether his prediction is right or wrong. I doodle heavenly dog and heavenly horse, just want to make friends smile.

Heavenly Horse
In the year of the rat, the heavenly dog has good luck, while the heavenly horse is prone to disaster.

2020 Halloween

Halloween Dance
Halloween in 2020 was not the same as in previous years. She felt like something big was going to happen.

Halloween Dance 2

At midnight on Halloween, I saw a bunch of mysterious dancers outside the window. I felt like something big was going to happen in the world.

Halloween Dance 3
I wonder if this is my illusion. Are there spirits dancing around?

Halloween Story
My neighbor told me that on Halloween night, she passed her ex husband’s house.

Fly
There was still a virus on Halloween in 2020. When she was isolated in the house, her soul began to fly.

Dream
My Halloween dream was so weird. I saw both pumpkins and Corona virus.

Lovers’ Halloween
Last Halloween, they made pumpkin lanterns together, but this year they have broken up. The reason they broke up was the virus.

Halloween Tryst
A few years ago, Rose had a tryst with a married man in a pumpkin house. Every Halloween, the memory lingers in her mind.

Mess in Her Mind
Tana is a sensitive painter. When her mind was in a mess, she seemed to see the ghost fly around.

Dancer Laura
Laura is a beautiful dancer. We used to work in the same studio.
Due to the pandemic, she dances in her backyard on Halloween 2020.

The Visit
A neighbor’s little girl told me that she saw a ghost visiting an old house.

Ordinary Life in Extraordinary Times

Silent Spring
The city lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, lovers still came out to meet.

Overlapping cities
When my city began to lockdown, I started to think of my hometown, which is ten thousand miles from here.

Nostalgia
During the pandemic, she didn’t meet friends or travel, but she had more time to look back on her past.

Reality and Imagination
We always walk between imagination and reality. This is a life of contradiction.

Autumn Memory
Her memory of autumn was beautiful and sad.

That Moment
At that moment, she was in a mixed mood when she saw that her abandoned boyfriend had a beautiful girlfriend.

Memories of the City
He has lived in this city for more than 20 years. Although he passed her by, he always remembered her. She was the brightest color in his memory. Later, someone told him that she was a big shot’s mistress.

Reunion
During the coronavirus pandemic, the couple were isolated in different cities. Three months later, they were finally reunited.

Xiaoliang’s Backyard
Xiaoliang is a published writer. She likes to concentrate on her writing at home. She never goes to a resort because the scenery in her backyard is as beautiful as a resort. Her life remained the same during the pandemic.

Chaos
When our lives are in chaos, we must accept it and believe in a bright future.

Face it
When we face aging and death, don’t be afraid. Our hearts are full of love and beauty.

Optimistic Dancer
We’re going through a lot of sadness and chaos in 2020. But my friend Laura, she’s very optimistic, she dances around at any time. I have to say she was born to dance.

Tree of Time
A tree in the wind and rain of time has witnessed the joys and sorrows of life.
In the winter of 2020, my aunt fell ill and her son had been taking care of her patiently. Many years ago, when my aunt was a young mother, she worked hard to raise her children.

Family
During the pandemic, people don’t travel as usual. However, the family is closer than ever. My aunt is ill and her children are with her all day.

Secret
When you enjoy your tryst, you don’t know that someone already knows your secret. Someone is behind the tree.

Past
She said although she was old, some of the past had better not be mentioned again.

Christmas in 2020
Christmas in 2020 seems different from the past. Many people are confused, but we still celebrate the festival.

Don’t Fool Me
Don’t fool Me. I know what you’re doing.

Happy New Year
Byebye, unforgettable 2020! Hopefully 2021 will bring good luck to the earth.

Belief
He abandoned her, but God didn’t. She believes her tomorrow will be better than him.

Windfall
Can you believe some business has boomed during the pandemic, such as personal protective equipment and online meeting platforms.

2021
Can 2020 take away corona virus? It seems that 2021 will bring new viruses and new problems.

No matter how old you are, the river of memory will take you to the past. No matter how hard we go through, we can never forget the first true feelings in life.

River of Memories
No matter how old you are, the river of memory will take you to the past. No matter how hard we go through, we can never forget the first true feelings in life.

Gone
Although many things have gone with the wind, I still love this land.

Love from Louisiana
I won an art contest from a Louisiana Museum during the pandemic. The prizes are full of Louisiana’s rich flavor: shells, sugar, Blues history book……

Memories
Our good friend Bob passed away in 2020. He was a really great person with many talents. When he was young, He was singing opera in Italy. He could fluently speak 3 languages. As a writer, he worked for a wine magazine.

Remember
I don’t go out to work during the pandemic, but I always remember the stories that happened in the office in those years.

No More
My friends told me that everyone worked at home during the pandemic. No more office romances.

Wechat and Chinese
In 2020, there were rumors that the U.S. government would ban Wechat. It turns out to be false. The virus is like a wall, blocking the way home for many immigrants. American Chinese mainly rely on Wechat to keep in touch with their relatives in China.

The memory of an immigrant in the south
This illustration is from one of my Shorties, “Wild Rice”. Thirty years ago, the heroine came from China to study in the south of the U.S. When she stood in front of the statue of General Li and saw the confederate flag flying high in the blue sky, she was moved by the democracy and tolerance of the U.S. Although the North won, the name of the southern warrior will always be engraved in the monument. Thirty years later, many things have changed, but she still loves this land.

Virus Ring
During the pandemic, a boy took a girl to buy an engagement ring. The girl fell in love with a beautiful diamond ring, but the boy thought the ring was too expensive and said the ring looked like a virus. They finally broke up.

Wild Rice
My friends told me that during the pandemic, they didn’t fly long distances, they just drove to the countryside and found a lot of wild rice in the swamps along the way.

Muscadine

Living in the south, everyone remembers the Muscadine grape.

Win
According to the news, the pandemic is getting worse. I still believe that humanity will win this war.

Muscadine Cake and Bamboo Dumplings
Peony Yu thought Muscadines were some kind of poisonous fruits before she learned about them from her boss Sheila… This illustration is from one of my short stories.

Oak Grove
My friend Lin Zi has read a lot of books and has written many talented articles. She lives in the suburbs of Paris. She has taken care of stray cats during the pandemic. Lin Zi named every cat. One of them was an orange cat. She called it a little tiger. One day, I passed by the Oak Grove near my house and saw a couple and an orange cat. I thought of her little tiger.

Love under Wisteria
My neighbor told me a story in the south atmosphere.

Past Life
My literary friend Mona is an excellent poet. I guess hundreds of years ago, she was a famous poetess in Song Dynasty. When she writes poetry, I wonder if she will meet her past life self.

Novel Scene
During the pandemic, my friend Xiaoliang continued to write her novel: The Barbed Fist. The title of the novel brought this scene to my mind.

My editor
I have two books traditionally published by Tsinghua University Press. Editor Wang Li worked hard in typesetting and editing. After the book was published, she also asked the publisher to pay for my contribution immediately.
With this little painting, I like to appreciate all the editors who edited my works.

Hezhou: Plum Blossom Sigh
In the autumn of 2018, I participated in the creative activities held by the North American Chinese Writers Association in Hezhou, China. After the event, I finished the historical novel “Plum Blossom Sigh” with Hezhou as the background. I illustrated the story during the pandemic lockout.

Hezhou ancient road : A tea merchant’s wife
In ancient Hezhou, merchants drove a carriage over the mountains for more than two months before they could buy tea in the big city. His wife was looking forward to his safe return home. When we see the woman in the picture, we can see that the jewelry on her head is in the shape of tea leaf. In the lower right corner, there is an old Chinese tea house with a big Chinese character “tea” on the sign.

Hezhou: Plum Blossom Sigh
I illustrated my historical novel “Plum Blossom Sigh”. This story took place in ancient Hezhou around 2000 years ago.

SuiNing: Reed Chi-pao

On the banks of the ancient Yellow River in China, reeds float around the water. There is a town called SuiNing by the River. Girls wear Chi-pao with reed pattern and walk in autumn. I sketched SuiNing during the pandemic lockout.

Taimu mountain
Taimu mountain in Fujian, China, faces the east China sea. It is beautiful and magnificent. There are thousands of years of wild tea growing on the mountain, and there are many stories happening there. I sketched Taimu mountain during the pandemic lockout.

Events in the past
Events in the distant past, sometimes clear, sometimes confused.

Cat is Watching Everything
My friend Sheryl’s cat , Cooper, likes to get on a higher place and look down.

Cat is Watching Everything 2

Cooper are looking at everything that humans can’t see. Cats have a wider view than humans.

Cat is Watching Everything 3
I don’t know when Cooper became a thinker.

Return
When the flowers bloom in spring, his heart will return to his hometown, where he met his first love.

Virus and Small Town
I have a friend who lives in a small town in Georgia. She said there were swans and muscadine in the town, but there were no confirmed cases. Soon, however, her friend’s mother died of the Coronavirus.

Postscript

In 2020, I have experienced the biggest ups and downs in my life, but I also have achieved a lot. I never expect that I would become an artist. My art works has been exhibited online in several museums and galleries and won a prize.
All this can’t be done without the encouragement of my father. During the pandemic, I doodled about the warm memories of my childhood and shared with my farther, such as the first time my parents took me on a plane; my mother made a dress for me with a sewing machine… Because of my father’s praise, I have confidence to start my artistic creation.