"[1] He has said that he uses his family heritage as "an alternative way of putting more out there that's about people of color, letting other stories be heard, other viewpoints".
[2] His multicultural heritage is described in an L.A. times article: "Half-Chinese, half-Jamaican Chong was raised Catholic but has followed Rastafari, the Ethiopian-inspired political/religious movement, and Santeria, the syncretic religion forged by African slaves living under Christian domination in the Caribbean.
"[2] The article also relates an episode from Chong's early childhood, wherein his father brought both a Catholic priest and an Obeahman shaman to bless a new house they had bought in Jamaica.
[2] He attended the School of Visual Arts in New York City from 1978 to 1981, and in 1981, Chong started his exhibiting career.
The content of the work deals with mysticism, spirituality, race and identity, as well as investigating the inherent value in images and objects.