A Conversation with Benjamin Von Wong

“Works in Progress” highlights artists across a range of disciplines whose work deals with ecological themes. Considering the particular role that artists play in the climate movement, this column will share their voices and provide a glimpse behind the curtain into their creative processes and experiences. Through a combination of Q&As and narrative pieces, this column will discuss the relationship between the natural world, advocacy, and the art itself. 

At first glance, it looks like a still from a futuristic movie: A woman, her long white hair flying around her face, sits in the middle of concentric circles made up of shadowy black items. Look closer, and you discover that those items are open laptop computers, and the walls are decorated with computer mice, adapters and wires. 

The photo is part of a series of images created by artist Benjamin Von Wong. To make the photos, he collected from Dell and one of their recycling partners, Wistron Green Tech, 4,100 pounds of e-waste, about the amount each of us produces over a lifetime.

The point was to open people’s eyes about the issue — and encourage them to do something about it by recycling. It was emblematic of Von Wong’s work, which aims to draw attention to various social and environmental issues, often in collaboration with corporations and environmental nonprofits. 

Two of his most well-known works are large-scale installations: “The Tallest Closet in the World,” which displayed the amount of clothing waste the average person generates in a lifetime, and #TurnOffThePlasticTap, a giant faucet spewing thousands of plastic water bottles, which he created for the United Nations Environment Assembly in 2022. 

Bluedot contributor Lily Olsen talked with Benjamin about his background, his inspirations, and his upcoming projects. 

LILY OLSEN: Can you tell me about your background and what led you to visual arts? 

BENJAMIN VON WONG: My background is in hard rock mining engineering. That was my day job. I studied it for four years at McGill University and worked for three-and-a-half years. Somewhere in the middle of that journey, a girl broke up with me, and I ended up buying a camera to take pictures of the stars. And from that point forward I ended up falling in love with the camera and becoming an early day influencer, making content for the internet. I ended up quitting the day job, traveling the world, and becoming a commercial photographer. 

Sometime in 2015 or 2016, I decided that this wasn’t what I wanted to be doing with my life, just making money and creating fantastical stuff. It just didn't feel fulfilling enough, and I ended up deciding to focus on social and environmental issues.

From there I evolved my work from photography into temporary sets. And these days I focus a little bit more on physical art installations, but I still take the time to photograph them, as well as to create a bunch of visual stories along the way and have documentation of the projects.

LO: I’d love to hear more about what inspired this shift. 

BVW: So I said earlier that I was doing commercial photography. In 2015 and 2016, I watched a bunch of documentaries because I wanted my work to mean something. I wanted it to contribute to the world. And a couple of those documentaries were environmental documentaries, specifically “Cowspiracy” and “Racing Extinction.” 

And it was around that time where I was just like, oh my gosh, there's something here because the environment doesn't have a voice of its own. It needs people to help explain these issues. And fantasy is a pretty good tool because so much of the  environmental crisis is often invisible. I guess the projects that I did were successful, and so I just slowly but surely got sucked into it. I didn't start off as an environmentalist.

I just kind of got brought in along the way.

LO: What are the greatest inspirations for your art?

BVW: I don't think I have a good answer for that because I don't necessarily have the same approach as most artists. I actually approach my art more like a designer where I'm trying to use art as a tool to solve problems. And so I spend a lot of time going to conferences, talking to scientists, and talking to different people within the movement to figure out what is their need and how can art help to solve this problem.

And so my greatest inspirations have always been less around what inspires me and what I want to do and mostly around: What can I do that is necessary for the movement right now? 

LO: What do you see as the role of art in climate activism?

BVW: I don't know what the role of art is broadly, but I can tell you the role of the art that I do. The art that I do creates a common visual language for movements. So I see my art as a lubricant for social movements. And I try to create the same visual images that could work for any number of individuals and organizations. And so my goal, my hope, my dream is basically to create these strong symbols that can be used by for-profits, nonprofits, governmental organizations alike.

And I think that they create a sense of curiosity and awe that draws new people into the conversation. But once they're drawn into the conversation, depending on who is publishing, who is using the images, they get to tell their version of the narrative that works for them. And so in essence it helps people with different theories of change come together around a single, similar visual. You know, it's kind of amazing that my art can be used on the cover of a PhD thesis, but it can also be used in a classroom, and it can be used on the Zoom background of a government organization.

LO: Can you tell me about the process of making #TurnOffThePlasticTap? What was the reception like?

BVW: It really transformed into a symbol because every person there at that conference [the 2022 United Nations Environment Assembly] was talking about the importance of turning off the plastic tap. I think it really focused the energy and the intention of the entire conference on this one singular message that everyone could agree upon. 

And it was just, it was such an oppressing and consistent reminder of what needs to happen with these treaty negotiations. We've now created a cardboard version that's free for nonprofits and students to download and use. It's been really beautiful to see this project blossom and grow. 

LO: A lot of your work presents the enormity of various issues — by incorporating thousands of plastic bottles, featuring a giant faucet, or a giant closet, for example. Can you tell me about the intention and emotion behind this creative decision?

BVW: It’s familiar and unfamiliar at the same time; I think it really hits you in a different way. I'm sort of leveraging the power of shock and awe. And then on top of that, I’m trying to make it so irresistibly beautiful that even if you're disgusted by it, you still have to look at it and you want to engage with it, and it creates this almost emotional paradox with which you need to engage.

LO: What are you working on and what are you interested in right now?

BVW: There are a couple of products. I can give you the context, but I can't really share what it is. 

In August I'm going to go to Everest and I'll be building an installation close to the Everest base camp. That one is about plastic waste.

I'm also going to be going to the United Nations Biodiversity Conference, and I'm going to create a symbol for biodiversity that I'm really excited about. I'm also just personally really curious about starting to play around with more biomaterials. 

I think that so much of the environmental crisis is just a depressing space to be in because these issues just keep getting worse over time. And I think the hope is going to lie in the solutions. And so if I can also balance out this pessimism with some optimism and some solutions, I think that would be a really healthy relationship.