Ho Tzu Nyen's The Nameless Explores Identity and History

Singaporean artist Ho Tzu Nyen's film The Nameless (2015) uses Hong Kong actor Tony Leung Chiu-wai's cinematic roles to parallel the life of Lai Teck, the Malayan Communist Party Secretary-General from 1939 to 1947. The film extracts from Leung's career, including A City of Sadness (1988) and The Grandmaster (2015), while the voiceover details Lai Teck's multiple aliases and espionage activities. Ho's work centers on the construction of identity and fabrication of history, part of his ongoing The Critical Dictionary of Southeast Asia, begun during a 2014 residency at the Asia Art Archive. The Nameless was screened at Art Basel Hong Kong's 2017 Film programme. Ho represented Singapore at the 2011 Venice Biennale with The Cloud of Unknowing.