APICHATPONG WEERASETHAKUL
UNKNOWN FORCES
Exhibition dates: April 19-June 17, 2007
Opening reception: April 18, 6 9pm
Artists talk at 6:30pm
www.redcat.org
In UNKNOWN FORCES, commissioned by REDCAT, Apichatpong Weerasethakul has invited two of his regular actors Sakda Kaewbuadee from Tropical Malady, Syndromes and a Century, FAITH, and numerous shorts; and Jenjira Pongpas, from Blissfully Yours, Iron Pussy, and Syndromes and a Century to travel on a pickup truck along a highway. According to Weerasethakul, The act is a tribute to our land and our countrymen after the political maelstrom of 2006. This is the artists first solo exhibition in the U.S., and the world premiere of the four-channel installation.
Says Weerasethakul, UNKNOWN FORCES is also for the hard workers and hard drinkers of the northeast, my home region, who are the root of Thailands booming real estate. These construction workers are hauled around by contractors from one construction site to another, roaming cities and villages. Thailands landscape is shaped by these nomadic souls on pickup trucks. Like many actors I know, the workers have resided in a hierarchic system for so long that they are voiceless and are assigned to be part of an apolitical speciesOn many occasions I feel I am part of this pickup truck syndrome, fueled by a strange cocktail of politics, monarchy, and religion.
Internationally recognized for his work in experimental and narrative cinema including Mysterious Objects at Noon (2000), Blissfully Yours (2002), Tropical Malady (2004) and Syndromes and a Century (2006), Weerasethakuls films explore perception, impermanence, and the imaginary, cultivating fanciful potential within the mundane. Urban, rural, and galactic locations accentuate the aloneness of man in his environment and isolation from others. Abstract interchanges in Weerasethakuls film and video installations interrogate conventions of the dramatic narrative while exploring desire, reality, and a kind of melancholy perhaps peculiar to our times. His exhibition at REDCAT includes June screenings of several feature and short films in the theater (see schedule below).
Unknown Forces: Apichatpong Weerasethakul is funded in part by the Asian Cultural Council; Camera Corner, Bangkok; North Star World, Bangkok; and Siamlite Film Service, Bangkok. Additional support provided by James Thompson Foundation, Bangkok; R23; and Smallroom, Bangkok.
Weerasethakul Screenings June 4, 6, 8, & 9, 8pm:
Mon, June 4: Mysterious Object at Noon, 2000 (35mm/screened on DVD, TRT: 83 mins) Wed, June 6: Blissfully Yours, 2002 (35mm film, TRT: 125 mins) Fri, June 8: Recent short works Anthem, 2006 (35mm, 5 mins) FAITH, 2006 (video, 11 mins) Ghost of Asia, 2005 (video, 8:30 mins) Worldly Desires, 2005 (video, 40 mins) Luminous People, 2007 (video, 15:22 mins) Sat, June 9: Tropical Malady, 2004 (35mm film, TRT: 118 mins)
Gallery hours: noon6 pm or curtain, closed Mondays
All screenings subject to change, please go to www.redcat.org or call 1.213.237.2800 to confirm screenings and to order tickets.
REDCAT
631 West 2nd Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012 USA
