Sunny Wong

Artist statement

Sunny Wong%u2019s ongoing series, %u201CI am your meme dealer%u201D, uses the traditional medium of intaglio printmaking to produce internet meme images. The project features a mixture of Wong%u2019s original content and direct samples of memes that have remained memorable to him throughout his online experience since the late 2000s.Wong is interested in the juxtaposition between virtual subject matter and the laborious intaglio process. Memes are built for speed, created and shared in seconds, while intaglio is a slow, manual, and physical craft. By bringing these two worlds together, Wong highlights the gap between the digital and the analogue. Simultaneously, the work presents a shared lineage between the printing press and the internet: both embody a pursuit of efficient information replication and dissemination.In an age driven by automation, artificial intelligence, and instant gratification, Wong%u2019s work explores the shifting values of effort, convenience, and patience. By rendering %u201Cdisposable%u201D internet imagery through a rigorous, dated technology, Wong prompts a reflection on the accelerating pace of contemporary life.

Biography

Sunny Wong (b. 2000, Hong Kong) lives and works in Leeds, UK. Graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Art & Design from the University of Leeds, Wong is a multidisciplinary artist currently focusing on printmaking. Central to Wong's practice is a response to his identity as a digital native raised with gadgets, computers, and the internet. His work delves into the interplay between the digital landscape and human experience to foster dialogue on the evolving relationship between humanity and technology. In his ongoing series, "I am your meme dealer", Wong employs analogue intaglio printmaking to produce internet meme images manually, juxtaposing the historical process with contemporary content to explore themes such as effort, convenience, access, and information dissemination. Another series, "bruh... it is what it is..." (2022), blended painting with screen printing, using special graffiti tools to paint and approached the silk screen as a mark-making implement to create vulnerable compositions, and explores connection and mental health. Wong's work has been acknowledged through exhibitions and awards, notably showcased at institutions such as the Stanley and Audrey Burton Gallery and the East Street Arts Patrick Studios Project Space in Leeds, UK. In 2022, with "bruh... it is what it is..." Wong became a finalist and exhibited in the 10th FUAM Graduate Art Prize, was awarded the School of Design Prize from his university, and secured the Graduate Award in Printmaking from Leeds Print Workshop and East Street Arts, which granted him a printmaking residency and a duo exhibition. In 2024, his printmaking gained further acknowledgement at the Ironbridge Printmaking Competition, where his piece %u201CHere we go again%u201D won the Printmaking Today Prize. In 2025, his prints were included in the Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair - the Director%u2019s Cut online showcase, and the Small But Mighty Exhibition established by the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers. He also participated in the Affordable Art Fair Battersea Spring with BANG, and his work is now being held in private collections. Education2018-2022 University of Leeds, BA Art & Design Solo / Duo Exhibitions2022 If you know what you know Do you know?, East Street Arts Project Space, Leeds, UK Group Exhibitions | 2026 Small Print International 2026, Leicester Print Workshop, Leicester, UK2026 Royal Birmingham Society of Artists RBSA Portrait Prize 2026, RBSA Gallery, Birmingham, UK2026 Derby Print Open, Banks Mill Studios & The Smallprint Company, Derby, UK2026 Affordable Art Fair - Battersea Spring (with BANG), Evolution London, London, UK2025 The Linda Blackstone Gallery 40th Anniversary Exhibition, 340 Kings Road, London, UK2025 Assembly House Annual, Assembly House, Leeds, UK2025 The Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers RE Small but Mighty 2025, Bankside Gallery, London, UK2025 Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair - The Director's Cut, Online2025 Affordable Art Fair - Hampstead (with Linda Blackstone Gallery), Hampstead Heath, London, UK2025 Affordable Art Fair - Battersea Spring (with BANG), Evolution London, London, UK2024 Assembly House Annual, The Attic, Leeds, UK2024 Ironbridge Printmaking Competition and Exhibition 2024, Ironbridge Fine Arts, Ironbridge, UK2024 Affordable Art Fair - Battersea Spring (with BANG), Evolution London, London, UK2023 Collective Unconscious: An Assembly House Showcase, Seagulls Paint, Leeds, UK2022 This IS a Laughing Matter, Old Red Bus Station, Leeds, UK2022 FUAM Graduate Art Prize Exhibition, The Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery, Leeds, UK2022 GARM.ENT Event, Headrow House, Leeds, UK2022 Degree Show, University of Leeds School of Design, Leeds, UK2022 DDDD (4D Collective), Hyde Park Book Club, Leeds, UK Awards & Honours2026 Jackson's Art Prize, Extended Longlist2024 Ironbridge Fine Arts Printmaking Competition and Exhibition: Printmaking Today Prize2022 FUAM Graduate Art Prize, Finalist2022 Leeds Print Workshop: Graduate Award in Printmaking2022 University of Leeds The School of Design Prize Residencies2022 Leeds Print Workshop, Leeds, UK

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