WHY are people fascinated with the unknown, the unconventional, even the supernatural? All over the world, there has always been a fascination with the afterlife and what comes after death. The Philippines is no exception. Especially in the provinces, there are still a lot of old tales, beliefs, myths and even sayings, and depending on just how open a person is, they will either believe it, have no comment about it, or just refuse to believe in such seemingly illogical nonsense. So, where does reality start and fiction begin?
For Apichatpong Weerasethakul, the multiawarded Thai filmmaker, video/installation artist and leading global figure in contemporary film and art, there is a very thin line between reality and fiction. His various works and art pieces all revolve around interchanging different phases and spheres of life, worlds, realms and even spaces, sometimes taken in just one shot or video footage, regardless whether it was taken in the past, present, or future. They may look seemingly bizarre to the untrained eye, but they do reveal a certain kind of rationale and logic, particularly following a deeper understanding of the story line, situation and setting.
Known to the art world as simply “Joe”, he first gained prominence for his 2007 film Syndromes and a Century, and just three years later in 2010, Joe won the coveted Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival for his film Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives. His unique singular realist and surrealist style depicts routinary everyday activities being interspersed alongside supernatural elements, showing a complete distortion between fact and folklore, the subconscious and the exposed, all the while showcasing the various disparities of power. His works also reveal untold stories often excluded in history books in and out of Thailand—the voice of the poor, marginalized and ill; and those long silenced and censored due to personal and political reasons.
His short stories are deeply invested in the life, culture, spirituality and struggles of the people of Isan, Thailand, the region where Joe grew up in. It is also the place often excluded by the elite nationalist project of the Thai state. His works utilize historical allusions, myths, codes and other visual representations of the marginalized sector of Thai society. Coherent and housed in carefully constructed parameters, Joe’s works are deep narratives that revolve around serious issues done subtly humorously with satiric intentions.
Just recently, Joe was in the country to officially open his first solo exhibit, titled The Serenity of Madness, which is on view until May 14 at the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (MCAD), housed inside the College of Saint Benilde’s School of Design and Art in Taft, Manila.
Apichatpong Weerasethakul: The Serenity of Madness is a traveling exhibition curated by Gridthiya Gaweewong and produced by Independent Curators International (ICI), New York. The exhibition and tour is made possible, in part, with the generous support from MAIIAM Contemporary Art Museum, Chiang Mai, the ICI Board of Trustees and ICI’s International Forum. The presentation at MCAD has been organized in collaboration with Joselina Cruz. Additional support is being provided by the Royal Thai Embassy, National Book Store, Craftpoint Brewing Co., Premier Wine & Spirits Inc. and Pacific Paint (Boysen) Philippines Inc.
This solo exhibition uniquely presents a selected survey of rarely seen experimental short films and video installations, as well as photos and archival material that explore the threads of Thailand’s sociopolitical landscape.
The artist’s passionate position regarding class, labor, sexuality, science and spirituality have informed his practice from early in his career to the present. Previously shown at MAIIAM Contemporary Art Museum, Thailand and Para Site Hong Kong, MCAD shows the exhibit’s third iteration, which premiers the work Invisibility in Southeast Asia and includes the video installations Emerald and Blue Propeller.
Apichatpong Weerasethakul was born in 1970 in Bangkok and raised in the north-eastern Thai city of Khon Kaen. Working independently of the Thai commercial film industry, he is actively promoting experimental and independent filmmaking through his company, Kick the Machine, which he founded in 1999. With Gridthiya Gaweewong, he founded the Bangkok Experimental Film Festival in 1997, and presented it three more times through 2008.
His works have been presented in art and film contexts internationally, including the Sharjah Biennial in the United Arab Emirates (2013); dOCUMENTA 13 in Kassel, Germany (2012); Liverpool Biennial (2006); Busan Biennial (2004); Istanbul Biennial (2001); and in solo and group exhibitions in art spaces, including Haus der Kunst in Munich, Germany; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; New Museum, New York; Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin; and Musée d’Art Modern de la Ville de Paris. Weerasethakul’s Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives won the Palme d’Or prize at the 63rd Cannes Film Festival.
His feature films include Cemetery of Splendour (2015), Syndromes and a Century (2006), Tropical Malady (2004), The Adventures of Iron Pussy (2003), Blissfully Yours (2002) and Mysterious Object at Noon (2000).
The Museum of Contemporary Art and Design is the only space of its kind in the Philippines that approximates an international contemporary art museum and gallery space in one. It’s open from Tuesday to Saturday, at 10 am to 6 pm, and from 10 am to 2 pm on Sunday. For inquiries, call 230-5100, local 3897.
Image credits: Courtesy of Kick The Machine