Since his teenage years, Paul Wong has used video as mirror and probe, both to discover his own identity and to interact with the world at large. Based in Vancouver, he is a self-invented video pioneer and award-winning artist, curator, and organizer of events, and public interventions since the mid- 1970s. His work is varied and eclectic, ranging from conceptual performances to complex narratives. He is known particularly for his tough engagement with issues of race, sex, and death.
Winner of the Bell Canada Award in Video Art 1992, the first recipient of the Transforming Art Award from the Asian Heritage Foundation 2002 and the inaugural NFB/CHUM Trailblazer Expressions Award 2003. In 2005 the Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts. He was the Canadian Spotlight Artist at the 2008 Reel Asian International Film Festival in Toronto. His ‘Perfect Day’ was awarded Best Canadian Film or Video.
He is the founding director of several artists groups including the Video In/VIVO (Satellite Video Exchange Society 1973) and On Main (On The Cutting Edge Production Society) www.onedge.tv.
The Proof
1. Two major influences David Bowie and William S Burroughs t-shirt on sale at Main Street's Car Free Day - June 2009. Been to numerous Bowie concerts and have met and video recorded Uncle Bill twice.
2. In Loving Memory of cousin, Helen Wong Dec 28, 1937 - Jun 11, 2009
3. First day of Summer 2009 - Self portrait, Squamish, BC
4.#116 & #135 - Canadian Rockies International Rodeo - June 2009. Project for Glenbow Museum, Calgary, AB. '2 Hot to Handle' opening October 25, 2009.
5. Liam at Wreck Beach Aug 2009
6. Preparing for Dana Claxton's exhibition 'The Barbarians' for SWARM opening Sept. 10, 2009 at On Main Gallery. Curated by Paul Wong.
7. Natasha Neale in studio, Mobile Media Correspondent for my Olympic Project www.5.paulwongprojects.com
8. On location in Salton Sea , Southern California July 2009.
The Questions
1. What do you do and where?
I am a visual and media artist based in Vancouver.
2. What neighborhood do you live in?
Main Street
3. What are you working on?
5 will be five interdisciplinary art installations happening on five Saturdays during the opening/closing of the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games February 12 to March 13, 2010. 5 is an opportunity to creatively explore 5 sites, a context to take the public on extraordinary journeys in real, invented and imagined places in Vancouver.
Commissioned by The City of Vancouver, Public Art Program, as part of Mapping and Marking Artist-Initiated Projects for Vancouver 2010.
4. Where can we find your work/websites?
5. Also which websites would you like mentioned?
