ALVIN WONG BOON JUN
FRAGMENTS
GMBB Level 2 11AM - 7PM
In Chinese Modern history, there are a few well-known migration waves to places such as Northeast, Xikou, Tea-horse ancient road, Nanyang and San Francisco.
My great-grandfather, Ong Kok Thin, followed the Nanyang migration wave to Malaya after the mid-20th century. Recollections from my childhood memories and looking through family portraits and photo albums reminded me of the existence of my great-grandfather. By looking at the blessed quotes on the wall, I comprehend my family’s vision. It motivated me to embark on a journey to trace my family history. I went through a few processes including colouring my great-grandfather’s black-and-white pictures, applying the technique of reconstruction of objects and scenes, taking photos of every family member and comparing the old with the new.
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These processes provide me with the material I needed to recreate the years of journeys that my great-grandfather came through to enhance the concept of self-identity. From that, I am able to connect the dots using family identity and history and to rethink the relationship of photography, space and memories.
Alvin Wong Boon Jun (b. 1998) is a Malaysia-based photographer with a Bachelor's Degree in Arts in Cinematography & Production from the Communication University of China in Beijing. Often touched by the beauty around him, Boon Jun has developed the passion to express the complex human relationships he observes through photography.
His work frequently combines digital composites with analogue and alternative procedures, as well as elements of mixed media. His primary interests are origin and identity, as well as tracing memory, emotions, time, and culture change, which shifts our view of history.
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Since 2018, Boon Jun's photographic works have been exhibited in galleries and photo festivals locally and around the Asia region. In 2022, he was nominated The 2nd BANSHAN PHOTOGRAPHY AWARD TOP 30+. In 2021, his "Grandfather's Journey: A Chinese Immigrant Story" work was awarded the Excellent Student Work Award by the 2021 Pingyao International Photography Festival.
