The Thai artist Korakrit Arunanondchai combines personal experiences with global political developments.

His video works, installations, paintings and performances juxtapose the clamour of a complex, globalised world with the serenity of dimensions beyond the physical. The subject matter is characterised by dualities such as spirituality and technology, memory and amnesia, contemplation and ecstasy.

Above all, Korakrit Arunanondchai sees himself as a storyteller, garnering his material from traditional folklore and rituals, contemporary activism and club culture.

Korakrit Arunanondchai’s practice rests on his interstitial experience as a resident of both Thailand and the USA. Dissolving identity with regard to generation, gender and nationality is a constant theme. Key to his practice is an interest in geopolitical conflicts, especially relating to the history of South-East Asia. Thai culture and world views are infused with Buddhism and animism.

However, Arunanondchai says, these same cultural keystones today form the basis for entirely new national narratives aimed at undermining democratic reform. Ghosts recur in his works as metaphors for repressed trauma and buried history. The artist takes on the role of the shaman, as a link between present and past, life and death.

Published on occasion of the exhibition ‘Korakrit Arunanondchai: From Dying to Living’, 17 Sep 2022 – 9 Apr 2023, Moderna Museet, Stockholm.

English and Swedish text.