Tuan Andrew Nguyen on His Two-Channel Video Installation at Venice Biennale 2026

At the Venice Biennale 2026, artist Tuan Andrew Nguyen (Ho Chi Minh, 1976) presents the two-channel video installation "Ñi Demoon, Ño Delusi" (Wolof for "Those Who Left, Are Those Who Return") as part of the exhibition "In Minor Keys" curated by Koyo Kouoh. The work is based on the story of Bouba Chinois, a legendary and controversial figure in Senegal between the 1970s and 1990s, described as both a criminal and a revolutionary. Bouba Chinois, whose nickname means "Chinese" in French, is of half-Vietnamese descent: his father was a Senegalese tirailleur fighting for France during the anti-colonial uprisings in French Indochina, and his mother was a military nurse. In an interview with Antonino La Vela, Nguyen discusses how the work continues his research on the Senegalese-Vietnamese community in Dakar, focusing on a single figure shaped by historical collapse and violence. Nguyen emphasizes the porous boundary between reality and fiction, noting that many elements of Bouba Chinois's story could not be verified, and that fiction allows these stories to speak in ways documentation cannot. He also reflects on the risks of institutional assimilation, the "white noise" of social media, and the tension between visibility and genuine listening. He states that his work does not aim to resolve contradictions but to leave them open, allowing fragments, silences, and ambiguities to persist. The interview was published on Artribune on August 2026.