Evelyn Wong's Projects

MFA Alumni

Major: Sculpture

Graduation Year: 2019

Artist Statement:

I am a first-generation Chinese American, a survivor of multigenerational trauma, a native to the American South, and currently a resident of New England. These experiences gave me an opportunity to have a unique perspective on what it means to be part of the Asian diaspora in America. In my work, materiality, text, Western and Chinese imagery and symbolism speak to my liminality of existing between cultures.  My explorations using artist’s books as a conceptual device reference Chinese and Asian American topics, including histories and narratives, legends and mythology, as well as culture and traditions, in order to bring visibility to the presence of this diasporic population in the United States.

Biography:

Evelyn Wong (she/they) is an interdisciplinary artist exploring themes of history, trauma, culture, race, and gender through the lens of personal narratives as well as her Asian American heritage.

Evelyn’s work has been exhibited recently in the Center for Maine Contemporary Art Biennial, and the Maine College of Art & Design Alumni Triennial Exhibition. Others include the Northern Arizona University Art Museum in Flagstaff, Arizona, the Portland Museum of Art in Portland, Maine, and the Museum of Craft and Design in San Francisco, California. Residencies include Hewnoaks Artist Residency, The Studios at MASS MoCA, and the Ellis-Beauregard Foundation Artist’s Residency Program. Evelyn received her BFA from the University of South Carolina and MFA from Maine College of Art, and was awarded the 2019 Professional Development and Creative Entrepreneurship Grant at Maine College of Art to launch Fireball Bookbindery, where she currently crafts hand-bound journals and notebooks inspired by Asian traditions in materials, designs, and book-bindings.