Simo Tse
Palimpsest (detail)
2024
Cookie tins, speakers, shelves

This work brings attention to a dozen Danish volunteers who fought in Hong Kong in 1941. Adapting Frode Olsen’s book, the artist illustrates their journey from Europe to Hong Kong, where they were imprisoned in a North Point POW camp. Through field recordings and archival interviews overlaid with iconic Danish “blue-tin” cookies and imprinted photographs, the artist invites viewers to revisit these traces. His thoughtful work connects Denmark and Hong Kong through memories of war and gifts, glimpsing lesser-known histories preserved through nostalgic recollections. This prompts reflection on ensuring even modest contributions endure beyond lives.


Artist Biography

Simo Tse is an artist and graphic designer based in Amsterdam. Focusing on the tension between individuality and collectivism, his artistic practice takes shape in printed matter, audiovisual installations and participatory events. Accumulating (auto) biographical and archival research, Tse is invested in building a constellation of anecdotic reminders of an individual’s agency constantly being challenged, excised and examined. His works have been exhibited at Kunsthal Charlottenborg (Copenhagen), Typojanchi (Seoul), Het Nieuwe Instituut (Rotterdam), the Unseen Photography Fair (Amsterdam) and the Hong Kong International Photography Festival.