Artist
Benjamin Von Wong
About the artist
Benjamin Von Wong is a Chinese-Malaysian Canadian artist, activist and photographer born in Toronto in 1986. In 2008, he obtained his engineering degree from McGill University in Montréal. In 2012, he took a break from his engineering career to concentrate fully on photography, which became his great passion and has only evolved since; he spends from six to nine months a year in constant motion, in search of different subjects to photograph.
Discover Benjamin Von Wong’s open-air exhibition
Explore a captivating series of case studies illustrating the environmental efforts of renowned Canadian photographer Benjamin Von Wong. His striking, ultra-realistic photographs bear witness to his active involvement in the fight against ocean plastic pollution, fast fashion and electronic waste.
As a renowned artist, activist and photographer, Von Wong seeks to unite people through spectacular art and powerful storytelling. The funds raised by these projects support tangible actions in favor of the environment. His original installations, immortalized in his photographs, have been reproduced worldwide to raise awareness of environmental issues.
Von Wong draws his inspiration from current events, scientific facts and alarming statistics about the state of our planet. His works reflect the emotions he feels, whether positive or negative, offering the public an unforgettable visual experience.
Every 60 seconds, the equivalent of a truckload of plastic enters the ocean” series
Every minute, the equivalent of a truckload of plastic is dumped into the ocean, feeding an incessant flow of plastic waste that continues unabated, day after day. Benjamin Von Wong and his team’s project aimed to highlight this alarming reality: until we stop the source of plastic, clean-up and recycling initiatives will always remain insufficient. Collaborating with aerial dance artist Katerina Soldatou, their aim was to create a work of art illustrating the importance of individual actions. The photos were taken in Greece in partnership with Greenpeace Greece.
Series #TurnOffThePlasticTap
In 2022, with the support of the Canadian Embassy in France, Benjamin Von Wong and his team built a spectacular installation for UNEA 5.2, bringing together 1,500 delegates from 193 countries. This one depicts a giant plastic spigot spewing debris from Kibera, Africa’s largest slum. This staging aims to stimulate discussions around the Paris Plastics Agreement, to raise awareness of plastic pollution in the oceans.
Series #MermaidsHatePlastic
To make plastic pollution more interesting, Benjamin Von Wong has created the #MermaidsHatePlastic series. Over 10,000 bottles were borrowed for the photographs!
Series #Plastikophobia
Millions of single-use plastic cups are used every day in restaurants around the world. To spark discussion on this environmental issue, Benjamin Von Wong and his team opted to create an interactive artwork, encouraging people to take photos of themselves inside a grotto of cups imitating an illuminated seabed. Exhibited in Singapore in 2019, the work was made from 18,000 recycled plastic cups.
4100lbs of E-Waste resurrected. Trillions to go “
To highlight Dell’s global recycling program, Benjamin Von Wong and his team transformed 4,100 pounds of electronic waste into three sculptures. The aim was to spark a discussion on how the past can feed the future through recycling: Dell has developed a method for recovering plastics and certain metals from old electronic devices, and recycling them into new computer parts.
Series #Strawpocalypse
This series of photographs was created in partnership with Starbucks Vietnam and the Zero Waste Saigon organization: In response to Starbucks’ announcement to eliminate straws from its stores, Benjamin Von Wong and his team designed the Strawpocalypse installation using 168,000 straws collected from the streets to illustrate the accumulation of plastic in the oceans. Completed in 2019, this impressive installation, measuring over 3 meters high, has won the Guinness Record for the largest plastic straw art installation ever made.’
