The Cloud of Unknowing is an installation by Singaporean artist Ho Tzu Nyen that was commissioned for the Singapore Pavilion at the 54th Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition. In this video installation, Ho takes as his central subject the subject of the cloud, and explores its symbolic and aesthetic representation across cultures, history and geography. Shot within a block of public housing in Singapore, The Cloud Of Unknowing revolves around eight characters and their encounters with a cloud or cloud-like figure. The Cloud of Unknowing portrays the characters in a moment of revelation, and here the reference that the artwork’s title makes is made clear: The Cloud of Unknowing is also the title of a medieval text presumed to be written by a cloistered monk on the experience and trials of meditative contemplation upon the divine, where the cloud paradoxically represents both the moment of uncertainty and connection with divinity.
