Korakrit Arunanondchai

This pulsating celebration of togetherness is a much-needed emotional antidote to these years of pandemic isolation. If Korakrit Arnunanondchai’s Songs for dying (IFFR 2022) is about the departure of the soul, his latest collaboration with Alex Gvojic is about spirits finding bodies and re-entering the world. Thunderous drumming, screeching feedback, and a mystical narration by musician Zsela bring warmth to distant human bodies from Thailand to New York, in rituals that rejoice in collective existence.

Korakrit Arunanondchai’s new piece, Songs for Dying, composed of tropes and ideas from his “living archive,” combines the personal experience of accepting death and the perception of history with religious, technological, and political narratives. Footage of his grandfather’s funeral is followed by archival records of the popular uprising on South Korean Jeju Island, current student protests in Thailand, and references to pop culture. Using the metaphor of the ghost, central to this piece, the artist questions the linear perception of time and seeks to show how the past pulsates in the present. In his worldview, nature, people, and spirits are intertwined into a homogenous whole, forming a living and diverse reality.

Taking on a decidedly sombre tone, Thai artist Korakrit Arunanondchai tackles the difficult subject of death in this latest iteration of his multifarious series. As drones take on the role of spirits, animism and reincarnation establish a universe in which spirits and living species share the same stream of existence. A human-sized rat journeys through the rubble of global capitalism and asks himself: “Will you find beauty in this sea of data?”

This film takes the rescue mission of 13 kids that were stuck in a flooded cave in Northern Thailand as a central focus to examine how the force of propaganda, spirituality, Royal History storytelling, Cold War politics in Southeast Asia and localized beliefs come together to create a new myth of representation for everyone to believe and take part in.

Drones replace divine spirits in Thai artist Korakrit Arunanondchai's explosive film that contemplates the place for spirituality today through body painting, performative expression and catchy hip hop.

Drones replace divine spirits in Thai artist Korakrit Arunanondchai's explosive film that contemplates the place for spirituality today through body painting, performative expression and catchy hip hop.

Drones replace divine spirits in Thai artist Korakrit Arunanondchai's explosive film that contemplates the place for spirituality today through body painting, performative expression and catchy hip hop.