Paul Wong

2016 Audain Prize for the Visual Arts

Paul Wong is a highly regarded, multimedia artist and curator. He is known for fearlessly tackling controversial issues of race, sex and death in his signature eclectic style. His body of work is diverse, ranging from public performances and body art to site-specific installations and film.

Paul Wong was born in 1954 in Prince Rupert, British Columbia. As a self-taught artist, he began working professionally in his teens. Early in his career, Paul Wong drew inspiration from the works of artists such as Lisa Steele, Shirley Clarke, Robert Smithson, Chris Burden, Andy Warhol and Piere Falardeau. By the 1970’s he was an active figure in Vancouver’s visual-arts scene.

In 1973, Paul Wong and several other artists founded VIVO Media Arts Centre, whose goal is to promote the non-commercial use of video technology through an international video exchange. Since its inception, VIVO has expanded its mission to supporting media arts through equipment rentals, artist workshops, and providing information to the public.

After a visit to China in 1982, Paul Wong intensified attention on issues of race and identity. He co-founded On the Cutting Edge Productions Society (currently On Main Gallery) in 1985, which sought to encourage dialogue surrounding issues of diversity in media arts. From 1989 to 1994 he wrote and shot So Are You, a fully-scripted film about Vancouver’s rough side where drugs, prostitution, and racism is contrasted with the city’s rising privileged class.

In 1984, Confused: Sexual Views which was originally set to be exhibited in the Vancouver Art Gallery, was cancelled. The Vancouver Art Gallery claimed the installation was ‘not art’. The exhibit featured twenty-seven individuals speaking about bisexuality, challenging the conventions of human relations and refuting the myths surrounding the notions of romantic love. The Vancouver Art Gallery’s cancellation of Confused: Sexual Views was a controversial decision with the art community and some members of the public regarding it as censorship. In 2002, Confused: Sexual Views was finally exhibited by the Vancouver Art Gallery and acquired as part of their permanent collection.

Paul Wong has been honoured with the Bell Canada Award in Video Art (1992), the Transforming Art Award from the Asian Heritage Foundation (2002), and the first Trailblazer Expressions Award (2003). He was also awarded the Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts (2005) and the Audain Prize for Lifetime Achievement in the Visual Arts (2016). Paul Wong continues to curate and create in Vancouver, British Columbia.