For Whom The Bell Tolls at S.E.A. Focus 2026

“No man is an island…”
-John Donne, 1624

For Whom the Bell Tolls takes its title from John Donne’s meditation on human interdependence, a reminder that individual existence is inseparable from collective fate. Written four centuries ago, Donne’s words resonate with renewed urgency in a world shaped by displacement, conflict, and the fragile persistence of hope.

Presented as part of S.E.A. Focus 2026 under the curatorial framework Humane Agency, this exhibition brings together works by Aung Ko, Zoncy, and Jason Lim – three artists whose practices emerge from distinct personal and cultural contexts, yet converge in their reflection on shared humanity.

Since the military coup in Myanmar in 2021, Aung Ko and Zoncy have lived in exile. Their works are shaped by the enduring realities of loss, uncertainty, and rupture, yet they resist reduction to narratives of victimhood. Instead, they function as vessels of memory and resilience, preserving lived experience while asserting compassion, dignity, and the possibility of peace. Through painting, symbolism, and gesture, their practices articulate how
humane agency persists even under conditions of displacement and political violence. Jason Lim’s ceramic bells introduce a quiet, contemplative counterpoint. Drawing on Buddhist traditions and material ritual, his works transform sound into an ephemeral presence – a prayer carried by the wind. The bell, recurring across the exhibition, operates as a memento mori: a reminder of mortality, impermanence, and the invisible threads that bind
individuals to one another.

Together, the artists invite reflection on how human agency is exercised not in isolation, but through empathy, remembrance, and ethical responsibility. The bell does not toll for an abstract other; it tolls for each of us. In acknowledging this shared condition, For Whom the Bell Tolls affirms art’s capacity to bear witness, to heal, and to sustain faith in our collective humanity.