When Japson Wong travelled to Semporna, Sabah to work in 2008, little did he know this experience would change his life forever. Upon his return to Kota Kinabalu in 2016, Wong was inspired by fishermen there to do upcycling work and produce artwork based on marine life to create environmental awareness among the public.
Japson Wong is one of the winners of the Star Golden Hearts Award 2023, an annual award by The Star and Yayasan Gamuda that recognises selfless Malaysian unsung heroes who make a positive impact on society and promote unity among the people.
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Japson Wong is one of the winners of the Star Golden Hearts Award 2023, an annual award by The Star and Yayasan Gamuda that recognises selfless Malaysian unsung heroes who make a positive impact on society and promote unity among the people.
For more SGHA videos, visit https://www.sgha.com.my/
WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news
SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar
LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline
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NewsTranscript
00:00 Hi, I'm Jebson Wong. I'm one of the winners for STAR Golden Hearts Award of the year 2023.
00:06 We spoke to this artist who creates art from discarded materials to champion environmental awareness.
00:22 His works include a collaborative project called Wonders of Wilderness - The Ocean.
00:27 The project, which ran from last year to earlier this year,
00:31 featured more than 20 life-size marine sculptures at the Sabah Art Gallery Art Space.
00:36 Yes, all these art can be found in Sabah waters.
00:39 We want to highlight the biodiversity in Sabah.
00:42 Some of them swim by Sabah.
00:44 For example, whale shark, we have Buddhist whale, we have manta ray, hammerhead shark,
00:51 and all of them are from different places in Sabah.
00:54 Moving on towards human sculpture, I want to link human and wildlife together, you know,
00:59 so that it can link especially to the public and also to the kids,
01:03 so that they can actually feel they are actually important, responsible to actually take care of our environment.
01:09 Wong said it is a long process to make the sculptures, usually a month to complete,
01:14 as it involves the creative use of waste materials.
01:18 Apart from his involvement in artistic activism,
01:21 he also runs the Tanjung Aru Marine Ecosystem Centre in Kota Kinabalu
01:25 to educate the younger generation about the marine ecosystem,
01:28 as well as the recycling and upcycling process to make something out of waste and add value to it.
01:34 One of the highlights at the centre is the signature glass wall.
01:50 The first process we have to actually come up with a design,
01:52 probably download from the internet, and then I have to alter them,
01:56 so that will tell us about the way that we are using waste material.
01:59 We have to make sure it is strong when it is stood up.
02:01 The old 3D drawings, I have to open up everything so that it is flat,
02:05 and then I can transfer it to the polycarbonate, which I gathered from factories.
02:09 I am so happy they actually supported me.
02:11 When they are doing roofing, when they are doing signboards, they always have offcuts,
02:15 you know, they always have extra one metre, two metres,
02:18 and then recently they also have rejected material,
02:21 meaning the material when they arrive in KK,
02:23 probably some damage at the corner, in the middle,
02:25 so that's where actually I get my materials from.
02:29 Something like that is very important, you know, when the glass is being turned into sand,
02:35 people actually couldn't see the impact that is going to be done,
02:38 but when it becomes a glass wall, it becomes like, you know, can apply to the villages,
02:43 they can make their own houses now using waste material.
02:45 Something like that would actually spark a lot.
02:47 That's why I use art projects, big projects to actually make the impact,
02:51 so that they can actually understand the uses of all the waste.
02:54 It can be something nice, it can be something impactful, it can be something very useful.
02:58 During COVID time, we actually collected a lot, a lot of bottles,
03:01 approximately more than 50,000 bottles,
03:04 but the bottles that are being used for the wall is around 24,840.
03:09 Everything is actually contributed by the community,
03:12 so a lot of people actually come here, they feel proud, they say,
03:14 "Ah, some of the bottles they sent before," you know, which makes them like part of the centre as well.
03:19 Wong said he is not an artist by profession,
03:22 as he actually studied marine biology at University Malaysia Sabah.
03:26 His first exposure to art and upcycling was during his fieldwork in Semborna in 2008.
03:32 I used to work in Semborna area, where we are dealing with a lot of community over there.
03:38 We are actually educating them how to plant seaweed.
03:41 It's an alternative source of income for them.
03:44 They are fishermen that make their boats, and so they are very good with tools.
03:48 That's the way I'm actually being trained to do so.
03:51 There's a lot, a lot, a lot of waste material, especially the islands.
03:56 Washed up plastics, wood.
03:59 In 2014, I came back to KK due to some security issues in Semborna,
04:04 so that's where I actually started doing upcycling.
04:06 I was inspired to actually get my hands on, to try out all the upcycling ideas on the internet.
04:14 And that's where it kickstarts.
04:17 Moving forward, Wong said he wants to form an upcycling community or association to do bigger projects.
04:23 He also has plans for another art exhibition,
04:26 featuring a forest theme with life-size sculptures of animals, insects and flowers.
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