Serge Ah-Wong is a visual artist, curator and Papua New Guinean settler based in Meanjin. Honouring his Motuan and Kairuku lineage, Ah-Wong uses portrait painting to express cultural pride, unearthing the complex ways his subjects resist assimilation, colonisation, cultural erasure and euro-centric ideals of beauty. Ah-Wong’s portraiture is relational; what is painted comes from listening to what matters to people. His work depicts their powerful stories of love, survival and self-determination.

 

Ah-Wong’s desire to create a space for First Nations and POC artists has also seen him curate art exhibitions for Conscious Mic including the Pasifika Wave 'Marks of Mana' Premiere and the Ctrl+Alt+Del art exhibitions.