10:39 minutes
The film Man and Gravity follows the journey of a man in an old, beaten motorcycle, struggling to transport his possessions through a mountainous landscape. At times riding swiftly and at times caught in a bind, we witness the man fighting against gravity and the roughness and irregularity of the terrain. The film draws on the artist’s own Buddhist beliefs, referencing the writings of ascetic Thai philosopher Buddhadasa Bhikkhu, who uses the concept of gravity as a metaphor for karma and destiny. The man’s attempt to win over gravity, pushing and maneuvering in and out of ditches while holding the weight of his possessions, speaks of the invisible forces we must all work against, and symbolizes the struggle to fulfil his (and our own) destiny.
Jakrawal Nilthamrong is a Thai artist and filmmaker who came to prominence for his unconventional approach to filmmaking. Conceptually, Nilthamrong interweaves Thai and Indian religious notions and practices which embody the complexity and imaginative capacity of the subject and viewer. From short films and documentaries to video installations and feature films, his works often incorporate concepts from Buddhism and East Asian philosophies, which acquire new meanings when revisited in a contemporary context. Nilthamrong’s approach is experimental with a purely cinematic language and surrealist aspects, his cinematic narratives investigate the idea of global change, questioning the idea of a human-centered worldview. Influenced by surrealist figures such as Salvador Dalí and Luis Buñuel, Nilthamrong’s films are characterized by their enigmatic nature, lack of a linear narrative, and their use of the non-sequitur. Some of the recurring themes in his work include karma, reincarnation and destiny, drawing on his own beliefs as a practicing Buddhist in order to explore painful events in Thailand’s history and their resulting trauma. The results are perplexing and complex films that follow their own internal logic and defy easy interpretation, slipping between past and present, the real and the imagined.
Invalid Throne by Jakrawal Nilthamrong is a 35mm film that searches the protagonist Kamjorn Sankwan’s memory and connection with the land he grew up in...
Misting Miner is a vapor sculpture by Alexey Buldakov from the Urban Fauna Lab collective that gives material form to the invisible phenomenon of mining cryptocurrency...
the amana collection Exhibit 05 – Daisuke Yokota | Exhibition | IMA ONLINE the amana collection Exhibit 05 – Daisuke Yokota 14 December 2019 - 20 January 2020 IMA gallery TAGS IMA gallery Daisuke Yokota Share © Daisuke Yokota_untitled_from Color Photographs Where does the photographic process begin and where does it end? Often the making of a photograph is considered to be a momentary event: the instant when the shutter is released and a photosensitive element is exposed thereby recording the physicality of reality...
Lean Lui’s Sensual Photo Book Reimagines Girly Tropes | AnOther Photographer Lean Lui discusses her poetic new photo book, which embraces feminine-coded motifs like bows and white socks December 06, 2023 Text Zoe Whitfield When Lean Lui first began photographing her younger sister, it was when they were both children, reenacting scenes they’d watched play out on American modelling shows...
James Ensor: series of anniversary shows to reveal ‘the man behind the mask’ Art market Museums & heritage Exhibitions Books Podcasts Columns Technology Adventures with Van Gogh Search Search Exhibitions news James Ensor: series of anniversary shows to reveal ‘the man behind the mask’ Belgium commemorates 75 years since the artist's death with a year-long season of exhibitions and events, often highlighting the lesser known aspects of his work Eddi Fiegel 15 December 2023 Share James Ensor, Pierrot and skeleton in a yellow robe (1893) Photo: Hugo Maertens The Belgian artist James Ensor may be easily recognisable for the macabre faces that so often feature in his works, but a major new season of exhibitions and events in his home country aims to reveal “the man behind the mask”...
Invalid Throne by Jakrawal Nilthamrong is a 35mm film that searches the protagonist Kamjorn Sankwan’s memory and connection with the land he grew up in...
Tarantism is the name of disease which appeared in southern Italy, resulting from the bite of a spider called Tarantula...
For Immersion , Harun Farocki went to visit a research centre near Seattle specialized in the development of virtual realities and computer simulations...
In a society saturated by images, Eric Baudelaire is interested in political events that have not found their representation...
Physical and mental exploration have been founding elements in Joachim Koester’s research for several years...
In Suspension a young man is hanging in the air, falling, or perhaps drifting through time and space...
Flight Rehearsals focuses on Subbaiah’s desire to fly as a means to highlight the relationship between human ambition and limitations of the physical world...
Freedom Farming presents how, after being given the right of farming, Li Binyuan began to re-dig his land...
«I will put two heavy stones in my jacket pockets that way my body will sink deep like a deflated truck tire, no one will notice», this excerpt from “Quay West” by Koltès could echo the story depicted by Katinka Bock: the shipwreck of a small boat full of stones...