Image courtesy of Sougwen Chung
Earlier this month, SIGGRAPH 2022 was thrilled to announce its first Featured Speaker for the Vancouver conference, Chinese-Canadian Artist and (Re)searcher Sougwen 愫君 Chung. Before you hear from Chung during her session “Seeing Double — Bridging Dualities With Relational Intelligence”, go beyond the bio and get to know the person behind the art in this exclusive Q&A with Chung.
Embracing contradictions in art and research can pave the way to a third path, inspired by tradition and the development of new hybridities.
—Sougwen 愫君 Chung
SIGGRAPH: You’re incredibly accomplished — with many awards, residencies, and more (plus features on your work in WIRED, Quartz, Forbes, The Washington Post, etc.) — what inspires your work in digital art/media and how did you first choose it as a career path?
Sougwen 愫君 Chung (SC 愫君): I like a challenge — there’s something inherently hopeful about it. I’m not always sure where my inspiration comes from — from everywhere and nowhere probably. I’m interested in evolving creative process, so new tools and approaches to / sense / making spark my curiosity, which becomes a bit of an obsession. Maybe on the outside it looks like a career, but I don’t think of it like that. Just wayfinding through interesting challenges, curiosities, and provocations.
SIGGRAPH: Share the best career advice you’ve ever received.
SC 愫君: “Go where you are rare.”
SIGGRAPH: Fill in the blank in each of the below sentences.
- I always keep _________ in my bag, at my desk and in my studio.
- I turn to _________ for inspiration.
- My morning routine involves _________.
SC 愫君:
- My journal
- Rituals
- Meditation
SIGGRAPH: What’s something people would be surprised to learn about you?
SC 愫君: In addition to Canada and China, I have significant familial roots in Brazil.
SIGGRAPH: What advice would you give to a young artist just starting out?
SC 愫君: I suppose I would advise any aspiring practitioner to nurture one’s own creative voice over taking advice from anyone. Your journey is your own, and that can be a beautiful thing.
SIGGRAPH: What do you hope for participants to take away from your presentation at SIGGRAPH 2022?
SC 愫君: I’m looking forward to learning from and being inspired by fellow researchers in the field in 2022. And surprised!
Join Chung at SIGGRAPH 2022 in Vancouver and register for a conference pass today!
