Wong Hoy Cheong was born in 1960 in George Town, Malaysia. His practice spans drawing, photography, painting, performance, and film. Wong’s film, Doghole (2010), which has been acquired for the Guggenheim’s collection, is an exploration of the Japanese occupation of pre-independent Malaysia during and following World War II. Here, the artist explores the psychological effects of war, suggesting that its stressful conditions may elicit extreme and ambiguous responses.

In his paintings, drawings, photographs, videos, performances, and installations, Wong Hoy Cheong examines the ramifications of human migration, ethnicity, and colonialism. His work is shaped by his upbringing in Malaysia, which he calls “perhaps the most complex multiethnic and cultural country in the world,” and his schooling at American universities, where, as he describes: “For the first time, I felt I was an object rather than subject.”

In 2011, Wong was awarded the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Creative Fellowship. He has been the subject of solo exhibitions at the National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur (1996 and 2004), and Eslite Gallery, Taipei (2010). His work has also been included in group exhibitions internationally including the Lyon Biennial, France (2009); and Negotiating Home, History, and Nation: Two Decades of Contemporary Art in Southeast Asia, 1991–2011, Singapore Art Museum (2011).

The artist lives and works in Kualar Lumpur, Malaysia.

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