Singapore Art Week kicks off this week with spotlight on Southeast Asia

As Singapore Art Week enters its 12th year^th Held from 19 to 28 January 2024, Singapore Art Museum will host over 150 art exhibitions, talks and programs by over 400 artists, curators and partners from Singapore, Southeast Asia and around the world, and It focuses on Singaporean talent, including Zu Nyen.The most exciting artists in the country today represented Singapore at the 54th International Film Festival^th Venice Biennale 2011. On view until March 3, 2024, “Ho Tzu Nian: Time and the Tiger” is a mid-term survey of the artist’s practice, bringing together 20 years of paintings, films, theater and video installations. Co-organized with Seoul’s Art Sungjae Center, this exhibition presents a new commission, “T for Time,” a two-channel video installation that explores the embodied and heterogeneous experience of time. Inspired by historical events, documentary footage, art history, music videos, and mythological narratives, Ho questions historical constructions, mythic narratives, and the plurality of identities. I sit down with the artist and discuss his creative process.

What are the most important considerations when you first start creating artwork? How do you come up with themes or subjects for your work?

Some of my projects start with a question. Sometimes it comes from an encounter with another work of art, music, or book. I start my day by reading in the morning. That sets the tone for the day for me. I don’t really know how I come up with themes and subjects for my work. Perhaps my work is like a constellation of themes or subjects. Sometimes I wonder if I didn’t choose it, but rather was chosen to be the conduit.

What role do words, music and lighting play in your films and how do you incorporate them?

Words are an important starting point, but they are also something that must be resisted. Music is a big inspiration for me. I listen to music almost all day long, but I can only work in an environment where the music I choose is playing. And sometimes I listen to the same records for days or weeks on end. It became a way to regulate my nervous system. Sometimes I wonder if they made the video to have an excuse to make a soundtrack. When it comes to lighting, when I used to use a camera a lot, I was obsessed with chiaroscuro, the extreme contrast between light and dark. So what I’m interested in is I think all videos are essentially light. For me, light is only interesting when there is darkness.

Why did you decide to explore the history of Singapore, Southeast Asia and the wider Asian region with videos that mix fact and fiction, and investigate how history is constructed?

I think my interest in history stemmed solely from my attempts to understand my present. And when I begin to study the past, what I am interested in in my work is neither fact nor fiction, but precisely the border between them.

What is the biggest challenge you face when creating your work?

Knowing when to stop.

How has your work evolved over the past 20 years and what keeps you going?

I think my work has increased complexity in terms of process and technique. It seems like I’m no longer able to summarize the content of my work. Because of that, I think I’m worse than ever at conveying his elevator pitch about them. However, this indescribable aspect is so interesting to me…so interesting that I could go on and on!

What do you think is the role of artists in society? What do you ultimately hope to achieve or what message do you hope to convey through your art?

I think artists exist to guide another reality into this one. Artists are like intermediaries in another world. However, I don’t think it is necessary to convey the message.