Fireworks (Archives) is a kind of hallucinogenic memory machine that lights up nighttime animal sculptures in the Sal Keoku Temple in the northeast of Thailand, where Apichatpong Weerasethakul grew up. To him, the region’s aridness and the repression from Bangkok drove people to dream of other realities. The political oppression led to several rebellions, with strange animal sculptures as silent witnesses. As with his films and art projects, here Weerasethakul portrays memory and other volatile elements, such as light and apparitions. He also shows that history and stories can be malleable. In recent years, Weerasethakul has made many stories around his birthplace in which his memories and those of others mingle seamlessly. In his new ongoing project, Fireworks, he embroiders on that theme, combining dug-up political heritage of Thailand with an ingenious use of fireworks and rhythmically edited sounds. Weerasethakul’s regular actors enter into a wondrous alliance with these illuminated sculptures, which evoke the spirit behind the recent rebellions. Personal, political and cultural memories combine to commemorate the destruction and the liberation of the country with the explosive power of fireworks. Weerasethakul’s feverish cinematographic dreams come alive again.
Spaces Within, Spaces (Gebouw De Hofpoort, Hofplein 20)
