Sunny Wong

Sunny Wong’s ongoing series, “I am your meme dealer”, uses the traditional medium of intaglio printmaking to produce internet meme images. The project features a mixture of Wong’s original content and direct samples of memes that have remained memorable to him throughout his online  experience since the late 2000s.

Wong is interested in the juxtaposition between virtual subject matter and the laborious intaglio process. Memes are built for speed, created and shared in seconds, while intaglio is a slow, manual, and physical craft. By bringing these two worlds together, Wong highlights the gap between the digital and the analogue. Simultaneously, the work presents a shared lineage between the printing press and the internet: both embody a pursuit of efficient information replication and dissemination. In an age driven by automation, artificial intelligence, and instant gratification, Wong’s work explores the shifting values of effort, convenience, and patience. By rendering “disposable” internet imagery through a rigorous, dated technology, Wong prompts a reflection on the accelerating pace of contemporary life.