Benjamin Von Wong facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Benjamin Von Wong
At a WEF meeting in June 2024
Born	(1986-11-14) November 14, 1986 (age 38) Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Education	McGill University
Occupation	Artist
Years active	2007–present
Known for	Cinematography, photography, film, installation art

Benjamin Von Wong (Chinese: 黄志铭; pinyin: Huáng Zhì Míng, born November 14, 1986) is a Canadian artist and photographer. He is famous for his amazing art projects that focus on the environment. His art often looks super realistic. Benjamin is also a speaker who inspires people around the world. He works hard to fight against plastic pollution in our oceans.

He has also created many popular online campaigns. One of these was a very successful online fundraising campaign. It raised over US$2 million for Eliza O'Neill, a young girl with a rare illness called Sanfilippo syndrome. Since 2017, Von Wong (Chinese: 烽煌; pinyin: Fēng Huáng) has focused on creating art from plastic waste. He wants his art to make people act, not just watch.

Early Life and Career Start

Benjamin Von Wong was born in Toronto, Canada, on November 14, 1986. His parents, Sing Wong and Jeanette Kho, moved to Canada from Malaysia. In 2007, Benjamin finished his degree in Mining Engineering at McGill University.

He started his career working as an engineer. He planned and designed underground mines for Golder Associates. But in 2012, he decided to follow his passion for art. He left engineering to become a full-time artist.

Early Art Projects

In 2013, Benjamin worked with Nikon and musician Andrew Kesler. They made the Nikon Symphony, a free ringtone. It was created using sounds from expensive camera gear.

In 2014, Benjamin was featured by Flickr for his underwater photos. He took these pictures in a shipwreck in Tulamben, Bali, Indonesia.

In 2015, the phone company Huawei hired Von Wong. They wanted him to show how good their P8 phone camera was. Benjamin combined art with fire to create a photo of a model surrounded by flames. He did this without using Photoshop.

Environmental Art and Campaigns

Benjamin Von Wong is well-known for his large-scale art projects. Many of these projects highlight environmental issues.

Art from Waste

In 2017, Von Wong turned old electronics into art sculptures. These pieces were made from recycled electronics from Dell's program. That same year, he also hung social entrepreneurs from a tall building in the Philippines. This was a challenge from Nike to promote their new shoes.

In 2018, Benjamin built the world's tallest closet in Cairo, Egypt. It was made from 3,000 pieces of clothing. This showed how much clothing one person might own in a lifetime. After the art was taken down, the clothes were given to refugees in Egypt. In Corfu, Greece, he worked with Greenpeace. They used an aerialist to show that "Every 60 seconds, a truckload of plastic flows into the ocean."

Record-Breaking Art

In 2019, Von Wong set a Guinness World Record for "Strawpocalypse." This was the biggest art piece ever made from plastic drinking straws. He used old straws to show how much plastic harms the ocean. He also worked with the National Environment Agency in Singapore. They created "Plastikophobia," an art piece made from 18,000 plastic cups. This was part of an art show about sustainability.

In 2021, Von Wong started the #TurnOffThePlasticTap project. This project aimed to show how much plastic is dumped into our oceans. It was also called #GiantPlasticTap. The project gained a lot of attention, especially before the Cop26 meeting.

In March 2022, he was asked to rebuild the giant tap in Kenya. This was for the United Nations Environmental Assembly. At this meeting, countries decided to create a global treaty to fight plastic pollution. Benjamin also gave his third TEDx talk. He spoke about how his fear of being irrelevant helps him create new ideas for climate action.

In March 2023, he created a huge 11-foot tall skull. It was made from electronic waste. This art piece, called "The Skull of Satoshi," was made with Greenpeace. It aimed to show the environmental impact of Bitcoin mining.

Helping Others: Philanthropy

Benjamin Von Wong has used his skills to help many important causes.

Saving Eliza Campaign

Saving Eliza was a campaign and a three-minute video created by Von Wong. It aimed to save the life of Eliza O'Neill. Eliza was a 3-year-old girl diagnosed with Sanfillipo syndrome in 2013. This is a serious illness that gets worse quickly in children.

Eliza's family worked to raise money for a special treatment. Researchers at Nationwide Children's Hospital found a treatment that worked on mice. But they needed $2.5 million to start human trials. The "Saving Eliza" campaign started on GoFundMe in October 2013. By 2016, the video became very popular. The campaign raised more than its goal of $2 million. At that time, it was the most money ever raised for a single GoFundMe campaign.

Shark Shepherd Campaign

In 2015, Von Wong started an online campaign to protect sharks. He asked a Malaysian official to create a shark sanctuary in Malaysia. His campaign featured free-diver Amber Bourke tied underwater with sharks swimming around her. These photos were taken in Fiji. The campaign gathered over 80,000 signatures.

Pandas Not Plastics

In 2022, Von Wong launched another online campaign. He worked with a crypto community called "The Degenerate Trash Pandas." Together, they raised over $100,000 for the Human Needs Project.

Awards and Recognition

• 2015: Saving Eliza: The Video that Could Save a Little Girl s Life... and Thousands More - Nominated for a Shorty Awards for Best Use of Video.
• 2015: Winner of the Power of Photography AP Awards.
• 2018: Named one of the Top 11 Branded Content Masterminds by Ad Week.
• 2019: Earned a Guinness World Record for "Strawpocalypse," the largest art installation made from plastic drinking straws.

Gallery

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  Giant Plastic Tap, Ottawa, Canada