Biography
An interdisciplinary climate artist, Garrett Andrew Chong’s practice engages paradoxically with themes of forest ecology, environmental advocacy, and the transformative power of light. A fourth-generation Chinese-Canadian and honours graduate from Emily Carr University of Art + Design in the mid-1980s, Chong’s early work in visual communications evolved into a multi-disciplinary and layered artistic journey spanning design, infrared photography, HDR imaging, video installation, and large-scale digital projections. His lens-based practice navigates the intersection of science, activism, and socially engaged aesthetics—using light, both visible and invisible, as a conduit for revealing the often-unseen impacts of ecological collapse. Over several decades, Chong has developed a distinctive visual language rooted in forest stewardship and critical observation of human–environment relationships.
His recent installation project, Eroded Origins: Speak For Me !, has been exhibited across British Columbia, with a recent premiere at Nuit Blanche Saskatoon. The work has garnered critical attention for its immersive approach to documenting and interpreting the clear-cutting of British Columbia’s old-growth forests. Media features include Tri-City News, Stir Vancouver, Vancouver Is Awesome, CBC Vancouver Radio, SFU Radio, and Fairchild Media. Chong’s practice has been recognized for its innovative integration of technology, including Stir Vancouver’s 2022 feature, “Five Eastside Culture Crawl Artists Using Technology to Catch Attention.”
Chong has lived in the lower mainland for over five decades and his 89 Gore Avenue studio-gallery is located at The Edge Building in Railtown, Vancouver, BC since the late 90’s. Chong continues to produce work that bridges contemporary digital techniques with enduring ecological inquiry.
Artist Statement
Eroded Origins: Speak For Me ! (The Flow, The Cut and The Blessing) is a climate art and community-based initiative that transforms spectators into advocates. Through interactive ecological-based installations, workshops, and digital storytelling, the project explores the profound interconnection between humanity and nature, inviting audiences to reimagine their relationship with Gaia.
At the heart of the work is Speak For Me !, a participatory platform inspired by the Art Matters movement. It engages art patrons through reflective prompts such as: If the forest could speak, what would it say? and What is your age? Audiences become co-creators in a living climate narrative, linking personal identity to ecological cycles.
Created while living and working on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), Dakelh (Cariboo), and Sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, this eco-artwork seeks to foster dialogue, collective responsibility, and environmental protection.
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Curriculum Vitae
Solo Exhibitions
2024_ Eroded Origins: Liminal Illusions Amidst Climate Transformation, Leonore Peyton Salon, Place des Arts, Coquitlam – Juried
2021 _ Seeing Anew: Earthly Presence, Canadian Pacific Gallery, PoMoArts, Port Moody – Curated
Group Exhibitions
2025 _ Unity, Moving Art / Eastside Culture Crawl, Vancouver – Juried
2025 _ Living in Between, Nuit Blanche Saskatoon – Official Selection
2025 _ Art Out Side Festival, PoMo Arts – Official Selection
2025 _ Burnaby Blooms Festival, Burnaby – Official Selection
2024 _ Green, The Pendulum Gallery / Eastside Culture Crawl, Vancouver – Juried
2024 _ Through the Stitches, Nuit Blanche, Kelowna – Official Selection
2024 _ Portals: Artist Talk, Threads, Saskatoon Open Door Society – Official Selection
2024 _ 2023 Arts in the Garden, North Van Arts, West Vancouver – Official Selection
2023 _ To Gather Together, ACT Artist Centre, Maple Ridge – Juried
2022 _ Next, The Cultch / Eastside Culture Crawl, Vancouver – Juried
2021 _ Moving Art, NATURAL ANALOG/UES – Nature of Space, Eastside Culture Crawl Film and Video Series, Vancouver – Juried
2019 _ Children Around the World, McGill University, Art Gallery, Montreal – Juried
2019 _ Still[s]… In Sacred Places, Britannia Art Gallery, Vancouver – Curated
2018 _ Spaces, Places and Traces, The Cultch / Eastside Cultural Crawl, Vancouver – Juried
Artist Residency
2023 _ Toni Onley Artists’ Project for Professional and Emerging Artists, Island Mountain Arts, Wells-Barkerville
Press
2024 _ Artist Captures BC’s Clear Cutting, Climate Change, Vancouver is Awesome, Vancouver
2023 _ On the Coast, CBC Radio Interview, Vancouver
2023 _ Speak Up, Listen Up, Act Upon, CJSF Radio Interview, Vancouver
2022 _ 5 Artists Using Technology, Stir Magazine, Vancouver
2022 _ Artist of the Week, TriCity News, Vancouver
2018 – 2021 _ Featured Artist, TriCity News, Vancouver
2018 _ Featured Artist – Eastside Culture Crawl (interview), FairChild TV, Vancouver
Education
1986 _ Emily Carr College of Art and Design, Graphic Design / Photography (Honours), Vancouver