LONDON.- The National Gallery’s 2025 Artist in Residence, Ming Wong, presents a new film work and installation responding to the depictions of Saint Sebastian in the Gallery’s collection, as well as to the work of seminal British artist and filmmaker Derek Jarman (1942-94).

Wong’s new short film, 'Dance of the sun on the water/Saltatio solis in aqua', sees the artist re-enact scenes from Jarman’s ‘Sebastiane’ (1976) within the setting of the National Gallery. Performed in Latin alongside a group of actors of Asian descent and various genders – a deliberate act of ‘mis-casting’– the film reimagines Jarman’s work in dialogue with historic artworks from Carlo Crivelli (about 1430/5-about 1494) to Gerrit van Honthorst (1592-1656).

Honouring Jarman’s anachronistic approach to history, Wong explores the evolving representations of Saint Sebastian across time. His film stages moments of temporal collision to highlight the enduring relevance of martyrdom today to both the secular and the devout. Through this iconic saint, Wong brings renewed focus to the representation of martyrs and the affective role they play in people’s lives.

Saint Sebastian, a Roman centurion and Christian martyr, is best known for being shot with arrows as punishment for his faith. The Gallery holds14 paintings of the saint, spanning the Renaissance to the Baroque, including the Pollaiuolo brothers’ The Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian (completed 1475), which traces the development of his iconography across generations of artists.

Celebrated for both his beauty as well as his suffering, 19th-century writers, painters and filmmakers have read queer narratives into Sebastian’s evolving image. Jarman’s 'Sebastiane' exemplifies these ideas, remaining an iconic work of British cinema for its radical retelling of the martyrdom and its entirely Latin script.

As part of the National Gallery Artist in Residence programme, Wong has been invited to respond to the collections of the National Gallery and this year’s partner museum, Glynn Vivian Art Gallery in Swansea. He began his residency in March 2025 and is working over the course of the year in the National Gallery’s on-site artist’s studio, benefiting from the close proximity to the collection and archives. This will culminate in a publication and a presentation, as well as a permanent acquisition for Glynn Vivian Art Gallery.

The award is a collaboration with the Contemporary Art Society, generously supported by Suling Mead, who will acquire an artwork produced during the residency for Glynn Vivian Art Gallery. The jury panel to select wong consisted of Caroline Douglas, Director, Contemporary Art Society; Michael Landy, Artist; Karen MacKinnon, Curator, Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea; Joe Scotland, Director, Studio Voltaire, London; Angelica Sule, Director, Film and Video Umbrella, London; and chaired by Daniel F. Herrmann, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Projects, National Gallery, London. The jury were excited by wong’s career-long dialogue with the cinematic canon, and how his use of homage could be a way to celebrate, subvert and explore the collections of the National Gallery and Glynn Vivian Art Gallery.

The Artist in Residence programme invites a mid-career artist to develop their practice in the context of the museum and to benefit from unparalleled access to the Gallery’s collection. The partnership between the National Gallery and Glynn Vivian Art Gallery gives wong the opportunity to respond to both the National Gallery’s collection of masterpieces in the Western European tradition as well as the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery collection, which covers a broad spectrum of visual arts from the original bequest of Richard Glynn Vivian (1835‒1910) to 20th-century Welsh and contemporary art, including oil painting, china and glassware.

Wong is the fifth Artist in Residence to be chosen since the launch of the Gallery’s new Modern and Contemporary Programme, following the appointment of Rosalind Nashashibi in 2020, Ali Cherri in 2021, Céline Condorelli in 2023 and Katrina Palmer in 2024.

Ming wong says: ‘It’s such an exciting time to be granted this opportunity to re-navigate myself in the journeys of European art as the National Gallery celebrates 200 years with a rehang of its collection. There isn’t a better time to reimagine the stories that these characters and creatures inhabiting these worlds can tell one another, and their exchanges that cross centuries and civilisations beyond the frames.’

Daniel F. Herrmann, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Projects at the National Gallery, says: With genuine compassion, curiosity and grace, Ming Wong’s work asks how the images and culture around us create notions of ourselves and others. We are excited to be working with him during his residency at the National Gallery, particularly as we reflect on the Gallery’s 200-year history.

Caroline Douglas, Director of the Contemporary Art Society, says: ‘We are delighted to be embarking on a fifth iteration of the Artist in Residence programme with Ming Wong and the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery. Every artist in residence has brought unique new perspectives to the collection and the institution of the Gallery itself, challenging our ideas and making us see the familiar with fresh eyes.’

Karen MacKinnon, Curator, Swansea Council’s Glynn Vivian Art Gallery says ‘We’re delighted to be working with the National Gallery and Contemporary Art Society on the Artist in Residence programme. Internationally acclaimed artist Ming Wong makes extraordinary interdisciplinary works involving video, performance and installation which challenge fixed notions of identity and authenticity. We can’t wait to see how our collections can inspire Ming Wong to create one of his playful and thought-provoking artworks; it will be an honour to be gifted one of these into Glynn Vivian’s permanent collection.’