Benjamin Von Wong – ON

ARTIST’S PROFILE

ARTFORM
cinematography, photography, film, installation art

MATERIAL/MEDIUM
mixed media

GUIDING INTERESTS

Benjamin Von Wong’s work lies at the intersection of fantasy and photography and combines everyday objects with shocking statistics. It has attracted the attention of corporations, like Starbucks, Dell, and Nike and has generated over 100 million views for causes like ocean plastics, electronic waste, and fashion pollution. Most recently, he was named one of Adweek’s 11 content branded masterminds. He is also the host of the Impact Everywhere Podcast.

QUOTE

I am an Artist focused on amplifying positive Impact. My mission is to help make positive impact unforgettable.

For more information about the project : 4100lbs of E-Waste resurrected. Trillions to go. (vonwong.com)

FORMATION

In 2007, Wong graduated from McGill University with a degree in Mining Engineering. Von Wong began his career working for Golder Associates as an underground mine planning and design engineer. In 2012, he left engineering to pursue a career in the arts. Benjamin Von Wong is a Canadian artist, activist, and photographer best known for his environmental art installations and hyper-realist art style.

SELECTED COLLABORATIONS & PROJECTS

2013 I Collaboration with Nikon and musician Andrew Kesler to produce the Nikon Symphony, a free ringtone made with $30,000 of dSLR gear

2014 I underwater photography taken in the Tulamben shipwreck in Bali, Indonesia

2015 I Hired by cell phone manufacturer Huawei to demonstrate the capabilities of its P8 cell phone camera.

2017 I Used recovered electronics from Dell’s Global Recycling Program and transformed a lifetime of Electronic Waste into art sculptures.

2017 I challenged by Nike to creatively promote its latest line of shoes . Von Wong hung social entrepreneurs off a 30 story skyscraper in the Philippines

2018 I built the world’s tallest closet in Cairo, Egypt, made from 3,000 articles of clothing — representing one lifetime of clothing — standing nine meters tall. After the installation was disassembled, Von Wong donated the clothing to Egyptian refugees.

2019 I earned a Guinness World Record for “Strawpocalypse,” the largest supported art installation made from plastic drinking straws. Von Wong re-purposed used straws to raise awareness around the environmental damage to the ocean caused by plastics

2019 I collaborated with the National Environment Agency and the Canadian High Commission in Singapore to create an art installation titled “Plastikophobia” made from 18,000 plastic cups for a solo gallery exhibition at the Sustainable Singapore Galleries.

# Strawpocalypse