Ho Tzu Nyen was born in 1976 in Singapore, where he lives and works. Drawing on the histories, mythologies, and politics of Southeast Asia, Ho creates works that blend storytelling with artificial intelligence.

A central focus of his practice is the plurality of cultural identities in Southeast Asia, a region so diverse in its languages, religions, cultures, and histories that it cannot be reduced to a single geographical or historical framework. Through his work, he explores different ways in which history is written, interpreted, and transmitted.

His projects examine the region's colonial legacies, as well as its histories of resistance and its inherent ambiguities. Ranging from documentary research to imagination and fiction, his installations combine archival material, animation, and film, often resulting in immersive and theatrical experiences.

In recent years, artificial intelligence has become an increasingly important part of Ho Tzu Nyen's artistic practice. Using AI, he explores themes such as colonialism, power, and collective memory. He is particularly interested in how images, stories, and histories are created, transformed, and passed on. For Ho, technology is not merely a tool, but also a way of developing new perspectives on the past.

Het werk van Ho Tzu Nyen werd wereldwijd tentoongesteld in toonaangevende musea en kunstinstellingen, waaronder het Hamburger Kunsthalle, LUMA Arles, het Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, het Singapore Art Museum en Guggenheim Bilbao. In 2011 vertegenwoordigde hij Singapore op de Biënnale van Venetië.

In 2026 werd hij benoemd tot artistiek directeur van de Gwangju Biënnale, een van de belangrijkste internationale tentoonstellingen voor hedendaagse kunst.

Opleiding

Ho Tzu Nyen’s work has been exhibited worldwide in leading museums and art institutions, including the Hamburger Kunsthalle, LUMA Arles, the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, the Singapore Art Museum and the Guggenheim Bilbao. In 2011, he represented Singapore at the Venice Biennale.

In 2026, he was appointed artistic director of the Gwangju Biennale, one of the most important international exhibitions of contemporary art.

Education

Bachelor of Creative Arts at the Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne

Master of Arts in South-East Asian Studies at the National University of Singapore

Solo exhibitions

Hamburger Kunsthalle (2025), LUMA Arles (2025), Mudam Museum of Modern Art (2025), Hessel Museum of Art (2024), Art Sonje Centre (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 Centre 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). Ho Tzu Nyen represented the Singapore Pavilion at the 54th Venice Biennale (2011). 

His work One or Several Tigers was presented at the Holland Festival (2018). It forms part of a series on tigers, which also includes The Song of the Brokenhearted Tigers (2012), Ten Thousand Tigers (2014), 2 or 3 Tigers (2015) and Timelines (2017).