As part of a collaboration between Mudam and the Luxembourg Film Fest, a carte blanche was given to artist and filmmaker Ho Tzu Nyen, whose exhibition Time & the Tiger will be presented at Mudam from 13 February to 24 August. Originally presented as an immersive video installation at the Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Songs for Dying and Songs for Living were conceived as interconnected works. The selected films delve into narratives of personal loss, communal identity, and cycles of becoming and decomposition. Ghosts, shamans, and a dying sea turtle are not mere symbols but central agents navigating the porous boundaries between the knowable and the unknowable. These cinematic works, infused with mythological and symbolic richness, echo the central concerns of Ho Tzu Nyen’s art, in which the intertwining of the human, the political and the cosmic unfolds with a striking resonance.

In this selection, Nyen bridges his own exploration of power structures – such as colonial histories and ecological collapse – with the socio-political realities reflected in the films. They touch upon themes of military rule, monarchy and pro-democracy movements in Thailand, while also inviting the audience into a broader reflection on transformation, resilience and the transcendental impulses of communities and individuals. Guided by songs that shape their polyphonic narratives, these films invite the audience to journey through layers of emotion, myth and reality.

Biography

Korakrit Arunanondchai (Bangkok, Thailand, 1986) lives and works in New York and Bangkok. Recent solo exhibitions include: Kunsthall Trondheim (2021); Serralves Museum, Porto (2020); Secession, Vienna (2019) and Kasseler Kunstverein, Kassel (2018). Arunanondchai’s work has been presented at numerous biennials and festivals, with recent presentations at the Gwangju Biennial (2021); Yokohama Triennial (2020); the Venice Biennale (2019) and the Whitney Biennial (2019).