Wong Ping Wins Camden Arts Centre Emerging Arts Prize

On October 3, Camden Arts Centre and Frieze Art Fair jointly announced Hong Kong artist Wong Ping as the winner of the inaugural Camden Arts Centre Emerging Arts Prize at Frieze London. Supported by its curatorial team, Wong will stage a major exhibition at the London-based Centre within the next 18 months. The show will be complemented by a series of extensive public events.

What drew attention to Wong was his three-part animated video installation Fables (2018)—which imparts twisted moral lessons relating to narcissism, love and fear—presented by Hong Kong-based Edouard Malingue Gallery as part of the “Focus” section at the 2018 Frieze London. However, Wong was selected not just for his presentation at the event but for his previous projects and exhibitions as well. Frieze’s announcement states: “Through the rawness that Ping’s [sic] work exudes comes a sense of desire and his darkly twisted works are strangely comforting in the way they appeal to our deepest and most private sentiments—things we feel, yet rarely share with others. Ping’s work is liberating and perversely honest—a cathartic twist on the trials of daily life [. . . his] work, whilst highly localized, speaks to an international audience.”

Born in Hong Kong in 1984, the self-proclaimed comedian explores taboos, sexuality and personal sentiments through his humorous yet dramatic animations. His works have been exhibited at Seattle’s Interstitial Gallery (2017), New York’s New Museum (2018) and Things That Can Happen, Hong Kong (2015), among other global institutions.

The 2018 Prize’s jury panel was chaired by Camden Arts Centre director Martin Clark and included the Centre’s program curators Sophie Williamson and Gina Buenfeld, as well as Joe Hill, director of Towner Art Gallery, Eastbourne. 

Dennis Mao is an editorial intern of ArtAsiaPacific.

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