Magdalen Wong (; born 1981) is a

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

/ New York based artist. She typically works across the mediums of video, photography, sculpture, installation and drawing.

Life and work

Magdalen Wong was born in Hong Kong but moved to the USA at age 13 and then moved back to Hong Kong in 2006. She completed her undergraduate degree at the

Maryland Institute College of Art The Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) is a private art and design college in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1826 as the Maryland Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts, making it one of the oldest art colleges in the U ...

in 2003 and a master's degree at the

School of the Art Institute of Chicago The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is a private art school associated with the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to an art students' cooperative founded in 1866, which grew into the museum and ...

in 2005. Wong has described her practice as dealing with "mundane objects and sensual imageries" (timeoutHK). Wong takes inspiration for her work from elements in her everyday life, these include Japanese animation, toy stores, bakeries, wet markets and Sham Shui Po. Wong is interested in altering mundane objects—through various mediums such as photography, video and sculpture—to provoke viewers to seek different narratives and the unique beauty within these everyday artifacts. Although her work can sometimes be viewed as a critique of consumer culture, she states that the intention of her work is to provoke "a mystery in the ordinary". Notable works include the video installation ''mmm wow'' (2012) in which Wong edited together different expressions from Hong Kong television commercials, for example "mmm", "ohhh" and "wow". The looped video works are displayed on TV sets installed with propped up the screens facing the ground. Viewers could hear the sounds from the TVs, but as the screens faced the ground, they could only see modulating colors reflected on the floor as the videos looped. In the photographic series ''Peeled'' (2010) a watermelon's green rind is peeled to reveal the pink tissue below. The photographs capture a performative gesture which transforms the mundane object of the watermelon into something strange. For ''Splash'' (2010), another photographic series, the artist collage cut-out milk splashes from cereal boxes. Wong is part of the United States-based art group ''i.e. artist group''. The group is made up of seven members, including Wong.They create and curate international exhibitions and events. Wong currently taught at the Academy of Visual Arts,

Hong Kong Baptist University Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) is a publicly funded tertiary liberal arts education, liberal arts institution with a Christian ethics, Christian education heritage. It was established as Hong Kong Baptist College with the support of Ame ...

, from 2006 to 2011. She shows with OV Gallery.Wong, Magdalen. "Magdalen Wong artist statement". ''OV Gallery''
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Awards and recognition

*2014: Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Main, USA *2012: Project Exhibition Grant, Hong Kong Arts Development Council, Hong Kong *2005: Hayward Prize, The American Austrian Foundation, Salzburg Summer Academy, Salzburg, Austria

Selected solo exhibitions

* 2011: ''Sunrise Sunset'', Corner Gallery, Seoul, South Korea * 2011: ''Shift'', Goethe Institute, Hong Kong * 2013: ''A Flight of Fancy'', Osage Open Gallery, Hong Kong

Selected group exhibitions

* 2006: ''Asian Traffic: line-feed'', Hong Kong Visual Art Centre, Hong Kong * 2007: ''97+10: Hand Baggage'', Videotage, MOCA, Shanghai * 2008: ''What are you doing where?'', Para/site Art Space at Hong Kong-Shenzhen Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture, Hong Kong * 2008: ''Domestic Affairs'', Galleri 21, Malmo, Sweden * 2009: cheapart gallery, Art-Athina: International Contemporary Art Fair of Athens, Greece * 2010: ''Double Happiness: A Story of Siamese Cities'', Studio Double Happiness and OV Gallery, Hong Kong * 2011: ''i can't go on, i must go on'', Tempus Projects, Tampa, FL, USA *2011: ''Closer & Closing'', The National Art Studio, Goyang, Seoul, South Korea * 2012: ''NO LONGER HUMAN'', Osage Kwun Tong, Hong Kong * 2012: ''Why Do Trees Grow Till the End?'', Southsite, Gallery Exit, Hong Kong * 2012: ''hi • a • tus'', Urban Institute of Contemporary Arts, Grand Rapids, MI, USA *2012: ''Traits'', Ox Warehouse, Macau * 2013: ''Follies of Species'', OV Gallery, Shanghai, China * 2013: ''Fresh 10'', Outlet Gallery, Brooklyn, NY * 2014: The Heroic Object, Parallel Art Space, Brooklyn, NY * 2014: The Part in the Story Where a Part Becomes a Part of Something Else, Witte de With, Rotterdam, The Netherlands * 2015: DAYS PUSH OFF INTO NIGHT, Spring Workshop, Hong Kong

References

External links

*Artist website: http://www.magdalenwong.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Wong, Magdalen Hong Kong women artists Hong Kong artists 1981 births Living people Maryland Institute College of Art alumni School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture alumni