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T360174 (2023)

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Video documentary:

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video documentary :

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T360174 (2023)

Dimension variable

Sculpture, single-channel video,

documentary, photography and letter

          In this project, I questioned local autonomous history on the border between Thailand and Cambodia in Surin Province from my personal experience as a Thai-Khmer people living in Thailand who grew on the borderland and listened to the fading stories told by my family in the vernacular conversations. The question took me to the 1975 Cambodian genocide, where my family was affected, both directly and indirectly ,whether it is a story of my grandmother who is mentally ill because of the effect from the war, my mother who has been taking care of grandmother, nieces and nephew together with my sibling since their parents were affected by the war, or my Thai aunt who sought the asylum as the Cambodian to the States with her family after the war, since there are mutual effects that cannot be obstructed by the borderline or the statehood. There were my relatives and some of my family members who were there in the same situation, facing the war, together with the families of million people. Between the lines of a tragedy in history textbooks, there was the aftermath of war in the lives of so many people. People died, lost, struggled to live, scattered, and were broken in ways I could never imagine the pain.

          I attempt to understand how the people have been living after the violent history of war that happened. Also, I would like to communicate the consolatory and mourning feeling together with honoring people's vigorous efforts to live on, as a descendant of war survivors, and as a human being who wants to recognize the pain of the traumatic history shared by humanity. This project is presented through videos, sculptures, and the process of organizing the Sandonta(Sart Khmer) ritual, a local tradition that Thai-Cambodian and Cambodian people practice in remembrance of the ancestors. The main offering is "Bai Ben," which is a streamed sticky rice in banana leaf, “Ben” in this word means “hold together”, “stick together”, of “make a living”. Another important offering is the flowers in the ceremony, known as "Paka Bai Ben,". According to the research, the Paka Bai Ben is the grass blossoms, has a sweet smell, is jasmine-like in color, blooms around the Sandota ritual period, and normally withers when the Sandota period ends. However, there is no clear information about what kind of flower it is. Finding Paka Bai Ben becomes another essence of this project, and it leads me to the local grass blossom flowers and crown flower (Calotropis gigantea), their seeds are dispersed by the wind, resulting in an abundance of them growing up naturally in many scenes, such as streetside, unused landscape, by the pond, or next to the village. In Thailand.

this project is a part from "In A Cogitation" in Early Year Project #6 at Bangkok Art and Culture Centre.

and received an selected Artist grant. 

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Equipment supported by

100 Tonson Foundation and Saliot Light Innovation Company Limited

COPYRIGHT © 2017-2024 MARISA SRIJUNPLEANG. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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