John Wong

Nothing is Real, also known as John Wong, is a multidisciplinary artist based in the UK, navigating the "in-between"

spaces of painting, film, theatre, and AI. His work intricately explores the fusion of these art forms, focusing on the relationships between patterns and spaces, ancient fortune-telling algorithms versus modern superstitions, the contrasts between natural and fabricated realities, and the solitude within everyday life.

Wong's career features several milestones, such as the screening of his film "The Tourist" at the 27th Hong Kong International Film Festival in 2002. His engagement with the international art scene, notably through the ARX5 cultural exchange in Australia and Singapore (1998-1999), has deeply influenced his practice.

Key recent achievements include the algorithmic installation "RuShi," which received the prestigious Best of Show Award at SIGGRAPH 2019 in Los Angeles. His work has been highlighted at significant exhibitions, including the Microwave International New Media Arts Festival 2018 and ISEA2019 in Gwangju. In 2020, "RuChu AR" featured in the "Peer to Peer UK/HK" online exhibition.

Inspired by The Beatles' timeless lyrics from "Strawberry Fields Forever," my artist name, Nothing is Real, pays homage

to their enduring influence on my creative journey.

“Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to, strawberry fields, nothing is real!…"

RuShi_Portrait (2024) is an expanded series of paintings derived from my earlier interactive installation work, RuShi (2018), which was awarded “Best of the Show” at Siggraph 2019 in Los Angeles. While the original work explored interactivity and discovery for participants, this series is a personal exploration of pioneers and creators who have been lifelong inspirations for me (e.g., John Lennon, Andy Warhol, Sam Altman, etc.). I am curious how they would appear if I used their birth dates to generate these five-element-structured portraits.

RuShi_Portrait is a self-portrait without a face, yet it vividly captures the essence of individuals in a sensational manner, portraying personal identity through elemental symbols rather than physical features. This work marries ancient methodologies with contemporary technology, illustrating our enduring desire to use technology to better

understand ourselves.

This series harnesses the ancient Chinese fortune-telling algorithm known as BaZi, or "eight words," which uses a person's birth date to predict destiny through eight characters associated with five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. This method, revered since the Song Dynasty, maps life paths through elemental

interactions. By using birth dates as input, the algorithm generates a structure of eight characters encoded with the relationships of the five elements. It is akin to today’s generative art, but instead of Artificial Intelligence, it utilizes Ancient Intelligence.