Ho Tzu Nyen (b. 1976, Singapore) is an artist and filmmaker whose works draw on historical and philosophical texts and artefacts through film, video and performance. Widely exhibited internationally, he has presented solo exhibitions across Asia and Australia and represented Singapore at the 54th Venice Biennale (2011). His films have screened at Cannes, Venice and Sundance. He has been appointed Artistic Director of the 16th Gwangju Biennale (2026).
O for Opium
O for Opium
O for Opium
Synopsis
As part of the filmmaker' s metaproject The Critical Dictionary of Southeast Asia, the film takes the letter 'O' to poetically conflate 'Opium' and 'Ocean'. It revisits the opium trade that underpinned British colonial expansion, contending with how opium may be understood, perceived and represented. Found footage and layered voices link Singapore' s port history to narcotic economies.
Director's Profile
HO Tzu Nyen
Filmography
2003 Utama: Every Name in History is I
2011 The Cloud of Unknowing
2015 The Nameless
2023 O for Opium
2025 Night Charades
Credit
Editor／Scriptwriter｜HO Tzu Nyen, Johann YAMIN
Sound Mix／Sound Design｜CHENG Lijie
Print Source
janfer.studiotzu@gmail.com, studiotzu@gmail.com
Shown in...
Videotage × Forum Lenteng: Scales of Passage
