Painting Photographs

Alice Wong was born in Hong Kong in 1980, and came to Creative Growth in 2003 when she moved to California with her family. Wong concentrated on drawing and ceramics until 2013, when she began painting on vintage photographs using enamel and acrylic markers. Wong has since become known for her photographic transformations. Using blocks of color to enhance or obscure her subjects, an approach reminiscent of Baldessari’s work, Wong forces the viewer to search for contextual clues and meaning by both orienting the viewer and suggesting abstraction. Vividly saturated, Wong’s interpretations of vintage and historical photographs breathe new life into static compositions. With a preference for Victorian and mid-century subject matter, Wong transforms the concept of nostalgia into living documentation.