Vong Phaophanit
Vong Phaophanit was born in Savannakhet, Laos, in 1961. At the age of nine he was sent to Paris to continue his education. Following the political events in Laos in 1975, he became a refugee under the Geneva Convention. He subsequently studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Aix-en-Provence. During this period he met Claire Oboussier, who was studying in Paris. Subsequently they established themselves in the UK, working alongside one another at Red Herring Studios in Brighton, where they made and exhibited work through studio exhibitions and artist-led initiatives. It was during this period that they began the formative creative dialogue that would become the foundation of their future collaborative practice.
Phaophanit established an international exhibition career during the late 1980s and 1990s, becoming known for large-scale installations incorporating materials including ash, silk, rice, rubber, wax and light. In 1993 he was nominated for the Turner Prize and in 1994 was awarded the DAAD Fellowship in Berlin. In 1998 he was nominated for the Paul Hamlyn Award. His work is held in major public collections including Tate, the Irish Museum of Modern Art, the Henry Moore Foundation, the British Council Collection and the Arts Council Collection. Since the early 2000s, collaborative works with Claire Oboussier have also entered major public collections, including Tate and Singapore Art Museum.
Alongside his studio practice, Phaophanit has taught and lectured widely at institutions including Chelsea College of Art, Wimbledon School of Art, Camberwell College of Arts, the University of East London and Exeter College of Art. He was also Senior Fellow in Drawing at Wimbledon School of Art.
The late 1990s marked an important development in Phaophanit and Oboussier’s creative partnership following their relocation to Berlin during Phaophanit’s DAAD Fellowship. This period gave rise to a shared studio practice and to their co-authored artist book Atopia, an early material expression of the collaboration. Around the same time they collaborated on the film All that’s solid melts into air (Karl Marx). In the early 2000s, Phaophanit and Oboussier formally unified their practices, establishing the shared studio through which they continue to work.
C.V
British citizen
Born: 1961, Savannakhet, Laos
Lives and works in London, UK
Education
1980-5
Ecole des Beaux Arts, Aix en Provence, France
COLLABORATIVE PRACTICE WITH CLAIRE OBOUSSIER
COMMISSIONS AND INSTITUTIONAL PROJECTS
2025–26 Eidolon, Public commission, National Gallery Singapore, Singapore
2022 Borderless, Public commission, Cleveland Clinic HQ, London
2021 The Call of Things, Public commission, Fen Court, London
2018 In Other Words, Public commission, University of Cambridge, UK
2018 Gilding the Border, Public commission, Thailand Biennale
2015 IT IS AS IF, Block 336 Gallery (Wellcome Trust Commission)
2014 Line, Public commission, Walmar House, London
2013 Red Fringe, Public commission, Cambridge, UK
2012 Coronium, Public commission, Kilden Performing Arts Centre, Kristiansand, Norway
2012 Light Veils, Public commission, Cultural Olympiad / Weymouth Seafront, UK
2011 Mute Meadow, Public commission, Derry~Londonderry, Northern Ireland
2010 Light of Day, Public commission, St George’s Hospital, London, UK
2009 Light Curtain, Public commission, Hull Truck Theatre, Hull
2008 All that’s solid melts into air (Karl Marx), Tate Britain
2008 All the world is Two, Public commission, Bristol, UK
2007 Topography of Dreams, Public commission, Birmingham Festival of Art
2006 Life Lines, Public commission, Southend-on-Sea, UK
2005 Bay Windows, Temporary public commission, Herne Bay, UK
2004 Outhouse, Public commission, Liverpool Housing Action Trust / Guinness Trust, Liverpool, UK
2003 Pipe Dream, Public commission, City and Islington College, London
2003 Atopia, DAAD Publications project, Berlin
2000 SCAN, Jerwood Space / Hayward Gallery / London and European venues
GROUP SHOWS
2026 Small Wonders, Hayward Gallery Touring Exhibition, UK
2025 Tropic of Perception, Ames Yavuz Gallery, Singapore
2020 Unauthorised Medium, Framer Framed Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2019–20 Counter Acts, Lethaby Gallery, Central Saint Martins, London
2019 Singapore Biennale, Singapore
2018 Thailand Biennale, Krabi, Thailand
2017 Diaspora Pavilion, Venice Biennale, Italy (mentors to artist Erika Tan)
2015 IT IS AS IF, Block 336 Gallery, London
2010 Outside In, SW1 Gallery, London
2008–09 The Tropics: Views from the Middle of the Globe, Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin / Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town
2005–06 The Animators touring exhibition, Angel Row Gallery / SPACEX / Ferens Art Gallery, UK
SELECTED LECTURES / SYMPOSIA / TEACHING
2018 Invited Professors, Department of Fine Art, Silpakorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
2017 Invited Artists, Cambridge School of Art, Cambridge, UK
2017 Open Lecture at University of the Arts London Research Centre for Transnational Art
2016 Tate Britain, London: Now and Then Here and There: Black Artists and Modernism
2015 Open Lecture at City and Guilds of London Art School
2013 Oslo, Norway: Art in Public Space: A Critical Perspective
2012 Ontario College of Art and Design: The Making of Sense
2012 The Rosewell Lecture, Wimbledon, UK: What do artists have to give?
2012 Sussex University Art Lectures: The Making of Sense
2011 Imperial War Museum, London: Post-Conflict Culture: Derry ~ Londonderry
2009 Royal Society of Arts, London: The Place of Art
2009 Royal Academy, London: Sculpture and Architecture – The Contest to Control Space and Meaning
FORMER INDIVIDUAL PRACTICE
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2001 Asia Society, New York, USA
2001 Centre for Drawing, Wimbledon School of Art, London, UK
1999 Stephen Friedman Gallery, London, UK
1998 Royal Festival Hall, London, UK
1997 DAAD Galerie, Berlin-Tiergarten, Germany
1996 Stephen Friedman Gallery, London, UK
1993 Turner Prize, Tate Gallery, London, UK
1992 Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, UK
1991 Chisenhale Gallery, London, UK
1990 Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol, UK
1990 TSWA Four Cities Project, Plymouth, UK
1988 Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff, UK
1987 Spacex Gallery, Exeter, UK
1986 Espace Sextius, Aix-en-Provence, France
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2007–08 Neon, National Glass Centre, Sunderland, UK
2007 Turner Prize: A Retrospective 1984–2006, Tate Britain, London, UK
2007 Inspiration to Order touring exhibition: Winchester / Wimbledon / CSU Stanislaus / ZKM Karlsruhe
2006 The Quiet in the Land, Luang Prabang, Lao PDR
2006 The 6th Gwangju Biennale, South Korea
2005 Peripheral Vision, Void Gallery, Derry, Northern Ireland
2004 Shanghai Biennale, China
2002 Process of Renewal, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK
2001 East of Eden, Spacex Gallery, Exeter, UK
2001 Double Vision, Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst Leipzig, Germany
1997–99 Dimensions Variable (British Council Touring Exhibition): Bucharest / Bratislava / Budapest / Vilnius / Darmstadt / Brisbane / Göteborg
1997–99 Crossings, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa
1997–99 Johannesburg Biennale, South Africa
1997–99 Pictura Britannica, Sydney, Australia
1996 Inclusion/Exclusion, Steirischer Herbst, Graz, Austria
1995 De Appel, Amsterdam, Netherlands
1995 Weltkunst Collection, Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland
1995 Phaophanit and Piper touring exhibition: Angel Row Gallery, Nottingham, UK / Site Gallery, Sheffield, UK / Cambridge Darkroom, Cambridge, UK / The Minories, Colchester, UK
1994 Loss and Renewal, Honiton Festival, UK
1994 From Beyond the Pale, Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA), Dublin, Ireland
1994 Cocido y Crudo, Museo Reina Sofía, Madrid, Spain
1993 Prospect ’93, Frankfurt institutions, Germany
1993 Four Rooms, Serpentine Gallery, London, UK
1993 Sonsbeek ’93, Arnhem, Netherlands
1993 Aperto ’93, Venice Biennale, Italy
1993 Ha-Ha: Contemporary British Art in an 18th Century Garden, Devon, UK
1993 Turner Prize Exhibition, Tate Gallery, London, UK
1992 Molteplici Culture, Museo delle Arti e Tradizioni Popolari, Rome, Italy
1991 Shocks to the System, South Bank Centre touring exhibition: Northern Centre for Contemporary Art, Sunderland, UK / Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, UK / Towner Art Gallery, Eastbourne, UK / Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter, UK / City Museum & Art Gallery, Plymouth, UK / Maclaurin Art Gallery, Ayr, Scotland
1990 From Moment to Moment, Cambridge Darkroom, UK
1990 British Art Show 1990, Hayward Gallery / UK touring
1989–90 Ouverture Internationale, Bergen, Norway / Amsterdam, Netherlands
1987 Fleeting Monuments, Brighton Festival
1986 Red Herring Studios ’86, Brighton Festival, UK
AWARDS AND RESIDENCIES
2004 Residency, The Quiet in the Land, Luang Prabang
2002 Art and Work Award, London, UK
2001 RSC Award, London, UK
2001 Senior Resident, The Centre for Drawing, Wimbledon School of Art, London, UK
1998 Paul Hamlyn Prize nomination, London, UK
1996–97 Fellowship, DAAD Berlin
1993 Turner Prize nomination
TEACHING
1998–2002 Visiting Tutor and External Examiner, University of the West of England, Exeter, UK
1995–2001 Visiting Lecturer, Wimbledon School of Art, Chelsea College of Art and Design, and University of East London, UK
1998 Guest Lecture, Glasgow School of Art, UK
PANELS AND BOARDS
2004–2007 Trustee, Spike Island, Bristol, UK
1992–1994 Purchaser, Arts Council Collection, UK
1991–1993 Advisory Panel Member, Art Projects Committee, Arts Council of Great Britain and Greater London Arts Association, UK