THE NAMELESS & THE NAME Ho Tzu Nyen (Singapore)
23 May - 2 Jun, Daily 10am - 10pm Gallery II, Festival House Free Installation
Ho Tzu Nyen, ‘The Name’, 2015 Courtesy of Edouard Malingue Gallery and the artist..
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This video exhibition by Singaporean filmmaker and visual artist Ho Tzu Nyen features The Nameless & The Name, two films that offer a glimpse into Ho’s investigation into the history of the Malayan Communist Party. They reflect the evolution of Ho’s thoughts culminating in Ho’s latest work, The Mysterious Lai Teck. The Nameless focuses on Lai Teck, the SecretaryGeneral of the Malayan Communist Party from 1939 to 1947. Revealed as a triple agent, Lai Teck’s story is told with a series of stolen images, featuring a shape-shifting actor from a land of multiple allegiances. The Name is constructed out of film footage from various Western films showing actors engaged in the act of writing. It features excerpts from various books “written” by Gene Z. Hanrahan. Amongst them is an early historical account of the Malaysian Communist Party, with access to secret documents out of reach to others. Some suspect Hanrahan to be a cover for a secret organisation with links to the CIA.
