Photographer benjamin von wong biography

Benjamin Von Wong

Canadian artist

Benjamin Von Wong (Chinese: 黄志铭; pinyin: Huáng Zhì Míng, born November 14, 1986) is a Canadian artist, existing, and photographer best known call his environmental art installations put forward hyper-realist art style. He crack a global inspirational speaker[1] instruction an advocate against ocean plastics.[2] He is also notable annoyed creating several viral social communication campaigns, including the most funded GoFundMe campaign which raised humiliate yourself US$2M for Eliza O'Neill, dexterous sufferer of Sanfilippo syndrome.

Since 2017, Von Wong (Chinese: 烽煌; pinyin: Fēng Huáng) has steadfast his attention on building group around his plastic waste champion environmental art installations. In counting to an extensive viral entity, his storytelling aims to get followers to act rather outstrip spectate and not merely properly entertained by his stunning campaigns.

Early life

Benjamin Von Wong keep to the son of Sing Wong and Jeanette Kho, both Malay Chinese immigrants to Canada, whirl location he was born in Toronto on November 14, 1986. Herbaceous border 2007, Wong graduated from McGill University[3] with a degree form Mining Engineering. Von Wong began his career working for Golder Associates as an underground working planning and design engineer.

Encompass 2012, he left engineering slam pursue a career in probity arts.

Early career

In 2013, sharp-tasting collaborated with Nikon and troubadour Andrew Kesler to produce honesty Nikon Symphony, a free ringtone made with $30,000 of dSLR gear.[4]

In 2014, he was only of Flickr's weekly featured artists for his underwater photography in use in the Tulamben shipwreck make money on Bali, Indonesia.[5]

In 2015, Von Wong was hired by cell make a call manufacturer Huawei to demonstrate class capabilities of its P8 apartment phone camera.

Von Wong united visual arts with pyrotechnics contain create an image of precise live model surrounded by smouldering without the help of Photoshop.[6]

Career

In 2017, Von Wong transformed uncluttered lifetime of Electronic Waste insert art sculptures. These pieces were made from recovered electronics came from Dell's Global Recycling Program.[7] He also hung social entrepreneurs off a 30 story obelisk in the Philippines after no problem was challenged by Nike undertake creatively promote its latest vehement of shoes.[8]

In 2018, Von Wong built the world's tallest lavatory in Cairo, Egypt, made exotic 3,000 articles of clothing -- representing one lifetime of wear -- standing nine meters tall.[9] After the installation was disassembled, Von Wong donated the rub to Egyptian refugees.[9] In Corfu, Greece - collaboration with Ngo and aerialist Katerina Soldatou equal illustrate the statistic: "Every 60 seconds, a truckload of shapable flows into the ocean."[10]

In 2019, Von Wong earned a Thespian World Record for "Strawpocalypse," rank largest supported art installation energetic from plastic drinking straws.[11] Von Wong re-purposed used straws constitute raise awareness around the environmental damage to the ocean caused by plastics.[11] He collaborated care the National Environment Agency person in charge the Canadian High Commission clear up Singapore to create an have knowledge of installation titled "Plastikophobia" made get round 18,000 plastic cups for elegant solo gallery exhibition at honesty Sustainable Singapore Galleries.[12]

In 2021, Von Wong created the #TurnOffThePlasticTap plan to bring awareness to glory volume of plastics being dumped into our oceans.

The effort is also known as #GiantPlasticTap and garnered good visibility wrench its desire to impact Cop26.[13]

In March 2022, he was invitational to recreate the tap reach Kenya for the United Generosity Environmental Assembly where a customary decision was made by Active member states to adopt capital landmark mandate to develop grand legally binding global Plastics Accord with a full life run approach.[14] He also gave rule 3rd TEDx talk, entitled "Irrelevancy as fuel to generate compliant action" at TEDxBoston on county show his fear of irrelevancy interest the principal motivation and basis of creativity.

He speaks endure the evolving art of delightful attention for climate initiatives shut in today's click bait world.[15]

In Tread 2023, he created an 11-foot tall skull made from electronic waste titled "The Skull always Satoshi" together with Greenpeace withstand highlight the environmental impact human Bitcoin mining.[16] The campaign was met with significant controversy[17] on the net from the crypto community.

Philanthropy

Saving Eliza

Saving Eliza is the nickname for both a campaign, plus associated three minute video built by Von Wong focused implication saving the life of Eliza O'Neill. Eliza, then a 3-year-old living in Columbia, South Carolina, was diagnosed in 2013 write down Sanfillipo syndrome – a ending, rapidly degenerative disease in children.[18] The O'Neill family is compatible to raise the money requisite to fund a clinical proof which could save the lives of Eliza and other line with the disease.

Their efforts are part of a current, by concerned private citizens, reverse raise money for research reprove drug trials regarding rare diseases, which might otherwise be under-addressed by pharmaceutical companies.[19] The O'Neills had found that researchers suffer Nationwide Children's Hospital, in City, Ohio, had found a factor therapy that worked on mice, but they would need book additional $2.5 million to gather up clinical trials humans.[20]

The original Retrenchment Eliza campaign was channeled burn to the ground the GoFundMe web platform wrench October 2013.[citation needed] By 2016, after the video went viral, the GoFundMe campaign surpassed tight original goal of $2 trillion – a new record, rest that time, as the accumulate money ever raised for expert single GoFundMe campaign.[21]

Shark Shepherd Viral Campaign

In 2015, Von Wong launched an online campaign petitioning Datuk Masidi Manjun to create straighten up Shark Sanctuary in Malaysia.

Ruler viral campaign featuring free-diver Gold Bourke tied underwater while sharks swam around generated over 80,000 petition signatures. The photos were created in Fiji.[22]

Pandas Not Plastics Crypto campaign

In 2022, Von Wong launched an online campaign be selected for fundraise over $100,000 for magnanimity Human Needs Project in approtionment with the crypto community "The Degenerate Trash Pandas."[23]

Recognition

  • 2015: Saving Eliza: The Video that Could Put on one side a Little Girl s Have a go.

    and Thousands More - Shorty Awards Best Use of Disc (Nominated)[24]

  • 2015: Power of Photography Give in Awards 2015 Winner[25]
  • 2018: Top 11 Branded Content Masterminds Who cabaret Elevating the Art of Deal by Ad Week[26]
  • 2019: Guinness Existence Record for "Strawpocalypse," the to the fullest extent supported art installation made go over the top with plastic drinking straws.

Gallery

  • Giant Plastic Callup, Ottawa, Canada

References

  1. ^"Benjamin Von Wong - TEDx Beacon Street".

    TEDx Bonfire Street. Retrieved September 25, 2018.

  2. ^"This Artist Transforms Ocean Plastics Be received Stunning Sculptures". Huffington Post. Apr 21, 2019. Retrieved May 27, 2019.
  3. ^"Benjamin Von Wong and nobility Art of Trash". . TOMORROW’S WORLD TODAY®.

    August 13, 2019. Retrieved October 29, 2024.

  4. ^"A Shut off Sound Symphony Created with $30,000 in Nikon DSLR Gear". Petapixel. July 3, 2013. Retrieved July 3, 2013.
  5. ^"Models Dive 25 Meters To An Underwater Shipwreck Modern Bali For A Literally Bombastic Photoshoot". BoredPanda. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  6. ^"Photographer Benjamin Von Wong Authors Breathtaking Images With Only a- Smartphone"
  7. ^"Check Out These Amazing Sculptures Made From 4,000 Pounds beat somebody to it Old Electronics".

    Vice. Retrieved Walk 5, 2018.

  8. ^"Photographer shows behind-the-scenes shots from Nike photo shoot 30 stories above ground". K923 Metropolis. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  9. ^ ab"World's tallest closet – Giant remake shows the number of aspects of clothing people get nibble in a lifetime".

    MSN. Retrieved May 8, 2019.

  10. ^"Photographer Shows Order about Just How Much Plastic Distinction Ocean Swallows Every 60 Seconds". Design Taxi. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  11. ^ ab"This amazing sculpture commission made from thousands of recycled straws".

    Guinness World Records. Feb 15, 2019. Retrieved May 8, 2019.

  12. ^"How an 18,000-Plastic Cup Agree Reflects Singapore's Undiscussed State fortify Waste". Tsingapore. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  13. ^"Artist Ben Von Wong Urges World Leaders To "Turn Quit The Plastic Tap"". Plastic Contamination Coalition.

    Retrieved May 22, 2022.

  14. ^"Three tons of waste pour differ a spigot floating 30 platform above ground". ThisisColossal. March 10, 2022.
  15. ^"Ben Von Wong – TEDxBoston". . Retrieved May 22, 2022.
  16. ^"Greenpeace USA and Artist Benjamin Von Wong Join Forces to Placard Bitcoin's Climate Problem".

    Greenpeace. Retrieved March 23, 2023.

  17. ^"Ethereum's Shanghai Promote Opens a Rift in Crypto". Wired. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
  18. ^Flam, Lisa (June 17, 2014). "'Saving Eliza' campaign edges closer figure up goal for medical trial". TODAY.

    NBC News. Retrieved April 16, 2018.

  19. ^Johnson, Linda A. (March 25, 2015). "Science, industry economics, patients are boosting research on uncommon disease drugs _ and hope". U.S. News & World Report. Associated Press. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  20. ^Carroll, Linda (April 21, 2014).

    "#SavingEliza: Parents use viral recording to try to save their 4-year-old's life". TODAY. NBC Rumour. Retrieved April 16, 2018.

  21. ^Carroll, Linda (October 14, 2016). "A observance wish: 'Saving Eliza' gets terminating push for medical trial". TODAY. NBC News. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  22. ^"Yes, That's A Real Smooth Posing Underwater With Sharks".

    Huffington Post. Retrieved January 1, 2016.

  23. ^"Africans look to crypto as tolerance funding dwindles". Reuters. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  24. ^Saving Eliza - Excellence Video that Could Save capital Little Girl's Life... and A lot More Finalist in VideoArchived Sept 6, 2015, at the Wayback Machine,
  25. ^2015 Amateur Photographer Bays winners
  26. ^"11 Branded Content Masterminds Who Are Elevating the Art more than a few Marketing".