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Interview with Apichatpong Weerasethakul in BOMB Magazine

Fireworks (Archives), 2014. Installation view of Fireworks at kurimanzutto, Mexico City, 2014. Courtesy of kurimanzutto and Kick the Machine Films.

On Oct 30, 2015

New York, NY, USA

Fireworks (Archives), 2014. Installation view of Fireworks at kurimanzutto, Mexico City, 2014. Courtesy of kurimanzutto and Kick the Machine Films.

Apichatpong Weerasethakul talks to Paul Dallas from BOMB Magazine about the conceptual links between his art and films, and the work Fireworks (Archives), an installation recently shown at Wavelengths, the experimental program at the Toronto International Film Festival. Discussing his interest in light as a source of understanding the world, the artist notes how the hypnotic Fireworks (Archives)– created around the wake of the 2014 Thai military coup – reveals the relationship of light to the beyond hidden contexts of Thailand’s Northeastern political memory and beliefs, as well as the silent, rebellious spirit of the people. Set in the mysterious Sala Keoku Temple, the fragmented flashes of light subsequently unveil a political landscape of the past that remains today. Weerasethakul further describes his work in relation to Plato's allegory of the cave:

“When one prisoner left the cave, he discovered the real source of light—sunlight. The light hurts his eyes because he wasn’t used to it. When he returned, the people in the cave were scared and didn’t want to believe that another reality existed outside the cave. It’s a classic parable that describes what happened in my country and what happens everywhere: people tend to stick to the propaganda that they are taught.

For me, light is also the information received through the camera to create shadows that we understand. But is that enough, is that reality? We know that reality is always distorted through the camera’s lens. These are the kinds of ideas that I’m working with and that are inspiring me right now.”

To read the full interview, visit BOMB Magazine's website, here.