ADRIENNE WONG

An artist and brand design director who draws inspiration from her travels, her Chinese heritage, and her feelings about home.

Can you introduce yourself?

I’m Adrienne. I’m an artist and graphic designer. Currently, I work as a brand design director.

What role does creativity play in your life?  

Creativity is a huge part of my life – it’s my career in design and art. Being creative – or having an outlet to be creative – is really important to me. I’m happier when I’m able to be creative, whether it’s drawing or painting at my studio space, or designing in a work context.

I met you at your opening night of the Finding Home exhibition at Ockham Collective’s Modal precinct. Your artworks are very evocative. What inspired you to make these works?  

Most of the paintings for that show were made when I lived overseas in the US and I’d brought them to NZ. I’d been living overseas for a long, long time, and was used to moving countries, but there was this consciousness of being foreign, always being from somewhere else and longing for New Zealand even though I was pretty happy living over there.

Part of my process is to explore my feelings and experiences in a location, which I will tap into while I’m painting so it is emotional for me. When making these paintings, I was feeling very melancholic – missing New Zealand, missing my family, and feeling like the eternal foreigner.

The video that was in the show was a little different in that I had made it once I’d returned to NZ. The video was a hybrid of images that I’d photographed in Houston and Auckland with noise that’s very Auckland – traffic, leaves rustling, and birdsong. It made me feel that now I’m ‘home’ but seeing the American images made me realise I was missing my American home as well.

We briefly spoke about a shared ‘identity crisis’, as people living outside of their home country. It’s almost like you bring your home with you everywhere you go. How do you feel about that?

I realised when I was overseas I would refer to NZ as ‘home’ and overseas as ‘home’ whenever I would visit here. Home is everywhere and nowhere at the same time – belonging yet always being an outsider. Coming back to NZ does feel different than being overseas, I feel like this is really ‘home’.

But returning has put a different angle on my work that deals with those themes – because I am Chinese and I look Chinese, I have been treated like this shouldn’t be my home. Even if my family has been here for generations. I’ve been exploring my family story and immigration in my art – something I haven’t done before.

You also work as a graphic designer. Do you have any preference between design work and painting?

I see design work as visual problem-solving , where art is limitless and you set your own parameters. Both I treat as ideabased.

When I work on a design, it’s not only ‘it looks good’ but ‘why this colour?’ ‘why this typeface?’ In my artwork, it starts from a concept so it could end up as a painting or a video, but

it’s definitely more personal as it’s telling my story, and the process is a lot more free. This makes it fun, but can also create a lot of angst for me. My latest work touches on my family

history so it is deeply personal.

With my art I can also have a more personal connection to people who see it. A woman bought one of my paintings at an open studio night where there were 200 artists’ works on

display. She told me as soon as she saw my painting she started crying as it reminded her of her son, who had passed away.

What obstacles have you experienced on your journey as a painter and graphic designer?

The biggest obstacle was in the beginning. I didn’t know if a job as a creative was even possible for me. I didn’t come from a background of art world people. I did art at school but went to university to study something else. When I was a junior designer I set a goal to be an art director – it’s difficult as it’s very competitive. But I did it. As an artist, the obstacles are actually making the work and how to get it out there for people to see.

One of my biggest obstacles was my self-doubt when I applied to art schools in London.

After I graduated, I was selected for a few group shows as a finalist, sold my first piece, and was voted People’s Favourite in a show. Only then did I feel like I could really do this.

Moving countries means starting again, building up your base of collectors and clients or applying for a new job. Moving has also meant I’ve had some great opportunities. In the US, there’s a culture of philanthropy and the arts that creates a vibrant scene and more physical places to show. Finding places to show is a challenge.

How do you price your artworks? I always find this the most difficult part.

It is so difficult that there are workshops on how to price! I think it’s reasonable to cover the costs of the materials, and I use artists’ quality, but sometimes I can’t really price the works on the true amount of time I’ve spent on them, especially if it is weeks... it’s not like freelance design billing!

If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?

The violence. I don’t want to say ‘world peace’, but… world peace? I would like to see the arts be a natural part of our lives, where the arts are appreciated. I’d like it to be part of the school curriculum – not as a side subject – so kids can have fun and express themselves through visual art, music, dance, and theatre. I believe it makes for a more well-rounded individual.

Photo by © Emily Raftery