Ho Tzu Nyen, “One or Several Tigers,” 2017. Synchronized 2-channel HD projections (16:9 format, colour, and 10-channel sound, 33 min 33 sec), automated screen, shadow puppets, show-control system, 33 min 33 sec. In collaboration with Vindicatrix (vocals and music). Video still courtesy of the artist and Kiang Malingue.

Performance, Talk


Ho Tzu Nyen: Lecture Performance and Conversation

December 14, 2024 – December 14, 2024
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Asia Art Archive in America

23 Cranberry St. Brooklyn, NY

Foundation for Spirituality and the Arts, in collaboration with Asia Art Archive in America, is delighted to present a lecture performance, titled “The World is a Space for Transformation” by internationally acclaimed Singaporean artist Ho Tzu Nyen. Taking place at AAAinA on Saturday, December 14th, the performance will start promptly at 1:30pm. Space is limited. RSVP is required.

Ho’s art practice delves deeply into diverse philosophies, traditions, and histories and offers unique insights into Southeast Asia, past and present. This newly conceived public program seeks to illuminate the multifaceted spiritual themes that emerge throughout much of Ho’s work and serves as an exciting conclusion to his current solo exhibition, “Time & the Tiger,” on view at the Hessel Museum of Art at Bard College through December 1.

In addition to Ho’s lecture performance, there will be a light brunch reception and Q&A discussion following the performance. Generously co-sponsored by the James H. W. Thompson Foundation and the MAIIAM Contemporary Art Museum, this event will inaugurate FSA’s new series of annual public programs showcasing the work of notable artists and scholars from Southeast Asia.

Program Schedule
1pm – Doors open, light fare and beverages will be provided
1:30pm Ho Tzu Nyen’s Lecture-Performance begins
2:15pm – 3:00pm – Conversation and Q&A with Tyler Rollins, Leeza Ahmady, and Ho Tzu Nyen

Participant Bios

Steeped in numerous Eastern and Western cultural references ranging from art history to theatre and from cinema to music to philosophy, Ho Tzu Nyen’s works blend mythical narratives and historical facts to mobilize different understandings of history, its writing and its transmission. The central theme of his œuvre is a long-term investigation of the plurality of cultural identities in Southeast Asia, a region so multifaceted in terms of its languages, religions, cultures and influences that it is impossible to reduce it to a simple geographical area or some fundamental historical base. This observation as to the history of this region of the world is reflected in his pieces which weave together different regimes of knowledge, narratives and representations. From documentary research to fantasy, his work combines archival images, animation and film in installations that are often immersive and theatrical.

One-person exhibitions of his work have been held at the Hessel Museum of Art (2024), Art Sonje Center (2024), Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (2024), Singapore Art Museum (2023), Hammer Museum (2022), Toyota Municipal Museum of Art (2021), Crow Museum of Asian Arts (2021), Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media [YCAM] (2021), Edith-Russ-Haus for Media Art (Oldenburg, 2019), Kunstverein in Hamburg (2018), Ming Contemporary Art Museum [McaM] (Shanghai, 2018), Asia Art Archive (2017), Guggenheim Bilbao (2015), Mori Art Museum, (2012), The Substation (Singapore, 2003). He represented the Singapore Pavilion at the 54th Venice Biennale (2011).

AAAinA’s general programming and operations are funded in part by the New York State Council on the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in Partnership with the City Council, Ruth Foundation, the Vilcek Foundation, and other foundations and individuals.