APICHATPONG WEERASETHAKUL SOURCEBOOK The Serenity of Madness
Independent Curators International New York MAIIAM Contemporary Art Museum Chiang Mai
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreword Alaina Claire Feldman and Kate Fowle
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Eating the Sun: Can Humans Be Hacked to Do Photosynthesis? Maddie Stone 194
Mekong Apichatpong Weerasethakul
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Untitled Apitchatpong Weerasethakul
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Untitled Apichatpong Weerasethakul
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Dear Khroo Part 1 Apichatpong Weerasethakul
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‘Orca ears’ inspire researchers to develop ultrasensitive undersea microphone Amara D. Angelica 44
Conversation with Withit Chandawong Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Withit Chandawong 208
An Illustrated History Of Trepanation Mo Costandi 232 Untitled Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Conversation with Gridthiya Gaweewong
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Dear Khroo Part 2
Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Gridthiya Gaweewong 46
Apichatpong Weerasethakul
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Ghazal of the Dark Death Conversation with Andrea Lissoni Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Andrea Lissoni 60
Federico Garcia Lorca, translated by Robert Bly 263
Image and Permissions Credits 265 MIT & Memory: Light Alone Can Activate Specific Memories Elizabeth Armstrong Moore 64 Eastern Beach 66 Untitled Apichatpong Weerasethakul
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The Mystery Tunnels provided by R. J. Destatte and Jeannie Schiff 74
Untitled Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Jenjira’s Diary Jenjira Pongpas Widner
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ICI Board of Trustees 267
FOREWORD AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Alaina Claire Feldman and Kate Fowle
The Apichatpong Weerasethakul Sourcebook: The Serenity of Madness is the third in a publication series by Independent Curators International (ICI) that offers a contemporary perspective on social, political, and cultural issues that impact and inspire artists today. Each compendium, edited by a single artist, is comprised of a personal selection of material retrieved from his or her archive. By using this subjective approach as a lens through which to introduce an artist’s practice, the Sourcebook series places an emphasis on expanding how we understand artistic thought, as well as giving deeper insight into the experiences and concepts prioritized in the process of making art. In effect, it is a studio-visit-in-a-book. Born in Bangkok and raised in the northeastern city of Khon Kaen in Thailand, Apichatpong Weerasethakul (or “Joe,” as he is commonly referred to by his colleagues and friends) is known worldwide for his visually-striking feature films as well as his poetic shorts and installations. He has been working between the worlds of cinema and art for more than twenty years. Early on, Weerasethakul co-founded and ran the Bangkok Experimental Film Festival from 1997 to 2008 with the curator Gridthiya Gaweewong, Artistic Director of the Jim Thompson Art Center in Bangkok, who has been Weerasethakul’s long-term collaborator and an invaluable interlocutor in the development of this book. While first meeting in art school in Chicago, the two have since gone on together to initiate numerous artistic projects of their own creative works, and have also supported many younger artists and filmmakers in Thailand, encouraging art’s role as a critical apparatus within the region and beyond. Throughout this publication, Weerasethakul offers his readers intimate knowledge of both his working processes and personal life, the two of which are often conflated. “How can one work here [in Thailand] and not get personal?” he asks. Sharing memories from childhood, experiences of writing and producing films, and introducing us to his world through interviews, diary extracts, and visual essays, we learn about his dreams, his waking streams of consciousness, the people he is close to, and the places and politics he encounters, holds dear, and is inspired by. Interspersed are short articles—on the memories of laboratory mice, the sonic capacities of sea-faring orca, mysterious Laotian tunnels, the history of trepination, and photosynthesizing plants—which together create an empirical rhythm that runs through the publication. On one hand, these texts provide an understanding of Weerasethakul’s biography: He describes that he was drawn to filmmaking, in part, because of his awe of natural phenomena, and suggests that “stepping out of a cave is similar to stepping out of a movie theater.” On the other, the material can be seen as a glimpse into Weerasethakul’s desires for the future: a world—heightened by scientific advances and technology— that allows us to see, hear, and perceive what we currently experience in an entirely differently manner. 7
What becomes evident within these pages is a nuanced blurring of art, philosophy, and life that constitutes Weerasethakul’s inspiration. For example, the particularities of the scientific texts also introduce a kind of animism and object-oriented ontology deeply rooted in reincarnation and Buddhist philosophies, challenging us to recognize our place in the world by seeing the worlds of others. Similarly, the diary pages of his muse Jenjira Pongpas Widner express the ordinary life of a young woman in the northeastern Thai city of Nong Khai while revealing her deeply self-reflective thoughts, allowing the reader to question the complexities of the system she is living under. In other chapters and conversations one becomes aware of the important influence of popular culture in Weerasethakul’s work. Through photographs of his personal VHS collection or through his emails, we glean the impact of a diverse range of filmmakers, from George Lucas and Luis Buñuel to John Waters and Yasujirō Ozu.
Kurimanzutto, The Evelyn Toll Family Foundation, as well as the members of ICI’s Leadership Council: Josh Brooks and Jung Lee, Susan Coote, Faruk and Fusun Eczacibasi, Jane Glassman (Fine Art Dealers Association), Agnes Gund, Alexei Kuzmichev and Svetlana Kuzmicheva-Uspenskaya, Toby Devan Lewis, Dorothy Lichtenstein, Julie Mehretu and Jessica Rankin, Patricia Phelps de Cisneros, Sarina Tang, Mercedes Vilardell, Helen Warwick; and additionally ICI’s International Forum: Terry A. Fassburg, Elaine Goldman, Michael Klein, Ingela Lorentzen, and Kathleen O’Grady. Finally, our sincere gratitude to the staff at ICI, and to the ICI Board of Trustees for their continuous support and commitment to all of ICI’s programs.
Through this Sourcebook, Weerasethakul asks us to think philosophically about cinema, and to think cinematically about the world around us. If we understand his juxtaposition of perspectives with scientific prose as a lexicon for his films and installations, then perhaps the subtitle of this publication, The Serenity of Madness, indicates a state of mind through which to channel what we experience. Like all ICI projects, this book would not be possible without the joint efforts of many. Our deepest gratitude goes to Apichatpong Weerasethakul for agreeing to share his material in print. You are an inspiration to us all. We would also like to thank Gridthiya Gaweewong, without whom this publication could never have ever happened: A casual conversation about working together on a book and traveling exhibition seamlessly progressed into a gracious collaboration. Many thanks to Sompot Chidgasornpongse at Kick The Machine for his assistance in accessing documents and images from the artist’s archive. It has been a pleasure to work once again with the designer Scott Ponik, who has translated and transformed the artist’s practice to the page. And many thanks to Sarah Wang whose poetic and articulate understanding of language has sharpened ideas into words. We would also like to recognize the work of Pojai Akratanakul, Publication Coordinator, who liaised with all the contributors to gather material, and who meticulously helped to make sure translations were as sincere as possible. Thanks to Narawan Pathomvat, Robert Halliday, Anusara Kartlun, Fabian Drahmoune, and Pimrapee Thungkasemvathana for their translations of primary texts, and to all the contributors: Amara D. Angelica, Withit Chandawong, Mo Costandi, R. J. Destatte and Jeannie Schiff, Andrea Lissoni, Elizabeth Armstrong Moore, Jenjira Pongpas Widner, Ronald Haden, and Maddie Stone. All of us at ICI wish to thank the sponsors of this publication, without whose involvement this project could not have been realized. We are extremely grateful to our co-publisher MAIIAM Contemporary Art Museum, Chiang Mai, and Jean Michel Beurdeley and Eric Bunnag Booth for their leadership. A special thank you as well to José Kuri and Mónica Manzutto from 8
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BIOGRAPHY
FILMOGRAPHY
Apichatpong Weerasethakul was born in 1970 in Bangkok and raised in the northeastern Thai city of Khon Kaen. Working independently of the Thai commercial film industry, he is active in promoting experimental 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 work has been presented widely in art and film contexts internationally, including the Sharjah Biennial in the UAE (2013), dOCUMENTA 13 in Kassel, Germany (2012), Liverpool Biennial (2006), Busan Biennial (2004), the Istanbul Biennial (2001), and in solo and group exhibitions at 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 2009 film, Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, won a Palme d’Or prize at the 63rd Cannes Film Festival.
FEATURE FILMS
Nokia Short, 2003 This and A Million More Lights, 2003 Second Love in Hong Kong (in collaboration with Christelle Lheureux), 2002 Haunted Houses, 2001 Boys at Noon, 2000 Malee and the Boy, 1999 Windows, 1999 Thirdworld, 1997 Mae Ya Nang (Like the Relentless Fury of the Pounding Waves), 1994 0116643225059, 1994 Bullet, 1994
Cemetery of Splendor (Rak ti Khon Kaen), 2015 Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Lung Boonmee raleuk chat), 2010 Syndromes and a Century (Sang sattawat), 2006 Tropical Malady (Sud Pralad), 2004 The Adventure of Iron Pussy (Hua jai Toranong), 2003 It is Possible That Only Your Heart is Not Enough to Find You a True Love, 2003 Blissfully Yours (Sud sanaeha), 2002 Mysterious Object at Noon (Dokfar nai meuman), 2000
INSTALLATIONS Invisibility, 2016 Fireworks (Fans), 2016 Fireworks (Archives), 2014 Dilbar (in collaboration with Chai Siris), 2013 The Importance of Telepathy (in collaboration with Chai Siris), 2012 For Tomorrow For Tonight, 2011 A Man Who Ate an Entire Tree, 2010 The Primitive Project, 2009 Phantoms of Nabua, 2009 Unknown Forces, 2007 Morakot, 2007 TEEM, 2007 The Palace, 2007 FAITH, 2006 Waterfall, 2005 Ghost of Asia, 2005 It is Possible That Only Your Heart is Not Enough to Find You a True Love, 2004 Golden Ship, 2002 Second Love in Hong Kong, 2002 Narratives, 2001
SHORTS Ablaze, 2016 Vapour, 2015 For Monkeys Only, 2014 Fireworks Sketch (Frog), 2014 Father, 2014 One Water, 2013 Blue Propeller, 2013 Cactus River, 2012 Mekong Hotel, 2012 Ashes, 2012 Sakda (Rousseau), 2012 M Hotel, 2011 Monsoon, 2011 Empire, 2010 Haiku, 2009 A Letter to Uncle Boonmee, 2009 Mobile Men (Segment of Stories on Human Rights), 2008 Vampire, 2008 My Mother’s Garden, 2007 Luminous People (Segment of State of the World), 2007 Nimit (Meteorites), 2007 The Anthem, 2006 Worldly Desires, 2005 Ghost of Asia (in collaboration with Christelle Lheureux), 2005 Ton, 2004 10
PERFORMANCE Fever Room, 2015, 2016
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