Desiree Kong is a Malaysian-American artist based in Brooklyn, NY. She completed her BFA in Photography and Video at the School of Visual Arts in NYC in 2017. Her work is photography based and fluctuates between creating installations, sculptures, and card games. She is represented by MaryMary Projects and has been mentored by Dustin Yellin, shown in galleries in New York such as Re:Art Show, and at Photo London 2018. She has been published in W magazine, Collectors Daily and Dear Dave.
Most of her childhood was spent in Malaysia where she was born, during her elementary school years she spent 3 years in Yamagata Prefecture where she attended a public Japanese school. After returning to Malaysia she completed her elementary education in a Japanese school since her main language became Japanese. At age 12 she moved to America to start her English education where she had to relearn a language that became her second tongue. This transition of cultural environments during a time of development has shaped her way of observing. Feelings of displacement and uncertainty of her origins, her work now explores how cultural environments influence our behavior, ways of thinking and communicating.
During her time at Arts Itoya, her objective is to immerse herself in the Japanese culture and experience Japan in a new light. She plan is to develop a new project based on her experience in Takeo where she can fully engage with the culture and environment. This time will be spent learning and growing while documenting the process of new observations through a familiar lens.
Her residency at Arts Itoya has been sponsored by MaryMary Projects.
