Everyday over the next few weeks, we will be highlighting the shortlisted artists for The 2022 Sovereign Asian Art Prize – the 18th edition of Asia’s most prestigious prize for contemporary artists. Selected from over 400 entries, the finalists hail from 16 countries and regions across Asia-Pacific. Of the artists, 27 are new to The Prize – appearing in our shortlist for the first time. Read on to discover more about our finalists, their key points of inspiration, and why it is important to champion the work of artists from Asia-Pacific.  

Kurt Tong (Hong Kong) was shortlisted for his work Is Life Worth Living?, forming part of a much larger project entitled ‘Dear Franklin’, an elaborate visual narrative that is both a doomed love story and a ghost story.

Have you always been interested in Chinese history and mythology? If so, why?

I was sent to a boarding school in the UK at 13, and then I spent my 20s working around the world. It wasn’t until I became a father that I wanted to reconnect with my Chinese Heritage, so that I could be better prepared to teach my daughter about being Chinese. It started with my own family history, and then I worked on a project about Joss paper; my interest in Chinese history and mythology quickly snowballed from there. It was interesting to see how dominating they are in our lives, even if we don’t know it. 

Can you tell us more about ‘Dear Franklin’ and how ‘Is Life Worth Living?’ fits into the larger project?

‘Dear Franklin’ is a 336 page book, an elaborate visual narrative that is both a doomed love story and a ghost story. Between a man who rose from poor beginnings to become part of Shanghai’s social elite in the 1930s and Dongyu, the daughter of a high-ranking Chinese general. The lovers were kept apart during WW2, and we follow their lives through their correspondence. The work explores cultural identity, war, colonialism, forced migration, social mobility and Taoism through multilayered narratives that use found images, texts and documents alongside my own photographs of interiors, objects and landscapes.

Pages of ‘Is Life Worth Living’ act as the anchor points, the protagonist’s self-reflections during challenging moments.

What is the significance of the text that appears in your work?

The pages are taken from “Think on These Things”, a little book given to British soldiers during WW2. This particular copy belonged to a Scottish soldier who fought in Italy and Egypt. I was initially drawn to it because of the flowers he collected and dried between the pages of his copy, that he found moments to appreciate the beauty around him during a chaotic time. 

For Dear Franklin, I redacted most of the text to create new passages that reflected Franklin’s state of mind after the loss of his loved one. Whist the book was given to hundreds of thousands of soldiers, I imagine that each reader related and took passages that were personal to them. 

How important is it to support artists from Asia-Pacific?

I think it’s crucial to support artists from Asia Pacific. Whilst we are given more and more opportunities, there is still some way to go to challenge colonial and imperial legacies. Awards such as The Sovereign Asian Art Prize can disrupt the way the rest of the world sees, listen and think about Asian and Pacific artists, helping to drive cultural, social and institutional change.

To vote for Tong’s work, click here. The most popular finalist will receive the Public Vote Prize and USD1000.

To register interest in purchasing Tong’s artwork, click here. Artwork sales will be launched in person and online during Art Central, from 26 – 29 May 2022. Proceeds will be spilt equally between the artist and our charitable programmes.

Want to learn about our other finalists? Tune in tomorrow for our next interview. To read previous artists’ interviews, click here.