Text on Practice - Te
My most recent video work called “The Holy Sponge” is a short mockumentary for the EYE project where I set up the trailer for the fictional exhibition “Keep Worshiping”.
The film begins with a very brief introduction of the King Sponge of the coconut shell planet, who is the owner of every item that is going to be shown in the exhibition. Followed by the various holy items that King Sponge used to help develop the Coconut Shell Planet.
The selection of household items is based on personal belongings of the previous king of Thailand that were released by Thai official media.
For example, a picture of his pencils which are well used, and toothpaste tubes which are really well squeezed, his shoe which is humble. All of those items are taken as a picture and were used as evidence supporting the King’s philosophy of sufficiency economy. Some things that are very humble were elevated into a high state.
I am amazed by how the media manipulates how people perceive the objects and it also makes me curious about how effective new meanings or stories were added into each object.
My script is also inspired by the story behind each item that has been told.
For instance, the king only utilized twelve Holy Pencils per year due to the philosophy of sufficient economy which focuses on development based on moderation and prudence.
In the production process, I filmed the items that seem to be normal items that could be found in every house or supermarket with the moving golden yellow fabric as the background. I shoot in high frame rate to make it more gorgeous.
All items are put into the golden frames in the editing process to raise more value.
With the animated particles overlayed as the video background in some shots.
Aside from the golden frame, I showed the written text describing holy information in the format of the museum labels. By doing that, It helps the audience feel like they are in the actual exhibition or museum. Those visual elements add a sense of humor to the narration.
In the past I did a lot of commercial product photography which mainly focused on the superficial look, but in this work it is more related to the history of the object which I wasn’t concerned about than much in the past.
Since object shooting is my obsession. As well as my attempt to take a photo every day.
I got inspiration from the Scratch Directory session, So I have been setting the rule for shooting on each date and also monthly theme. For example, the first of every month, I will take a photo of something that can be torn apart. And in January I will take photos of trash. That means on the first of January I will set a photoshoot of something that can be torn apart with trash. I believe it’s a good way of generating new images.
As I feel like lately I haven’t produced a lot of work, so if I can set the rule to shoot something very fast every day. At the end of the year I’m supposed to have 365 photos with different concepts.
I think seeing the results in the big picture might show some connection of each photo and even inspire me to develop this work into the next level.
08-02-2023 Revise.
In my working practice to develop artwork, I am accustomed to creating a mind map by writing down the terms that inspire me at the starting point. Gathering and expanding the terms, write them down. This practice helps me see the big picture and it also helps highlight the connections between each direction I have in my work.
I recently produced a short mockumentary called “The Holy Sponge”. The film showcases a fictional exhibition “Keep Worshiping” and highlights the story of the King Sponge of the coconut shell planet, who owns all the items displayed in the exhibition.
The film begins with a very brief introduction of the King Sponge of the coconut shell planet. Followed by the various holy items that King Sponge used to help develop the Coconut Shell Planet. The household items in the film were selected based on personal belongings of the previous king of Thailand that were released by Thai official media. The objects were chosen to reflect the king's philosophy of sufficiency economy and to demonstrate how media can manipulate people's perceptions of objects.
I am amazed by how the media manipulates the way people perceive the objects and it also makes me curious about how effective new meanings or stories were added into each object. At this point, it reminds me of the Fountain by Marcel Duchamp. He was one of the very first artists who brought manufactured objects that he called ‘Readymade’ to claim as the art piece as he believed anything could be a work of art. That leads me to excavate deeper into the idea of presenting mundane objects with Holy quality which you cannot perceive with your eyes but you have to open your mind and believe in them.
The script was inspired by the stories behind each item, such as the king only using twelve (Holy) Pencils per year and squeezed (Holy) toothbrush tubes so well that they cannot produce more toothbrushes.
The production involved filming the objects with a moving golden yellow fabric background and high frame rate, then editing the items into golden frames with particle animation and museum label-style text for added humor.
In Thailand, not looking up to the monarchy and its members is not a choice.
The King held power and control over people for centuries. No matter how much taxpayer money they spend on extravagant items or how bad behavior they have done, Thai citizens have to worship and love them without question. To speak out or criticize their behavior is against the Lèse-majesté law (Section 112 of the Thai Criminal Code). There are a number of Thai activists who were put into jail over years for online posts, criticizing, or mocking the monarchy. It might sound absurd and implausible for a democratic country. However, in Thailand, there are instances where such occurrences are taking place in reality. If you are Thai living and producing political work in Thailand, to avoid the arrest, you have to use the metaphor and not project your point of view directly.
In regards to official materials related to the King, it is important to maintain a dignified and flattering portrayal. This serves to enhance and exalt their image in the eyes of the public. To subvert that idea, I have created the work regarding the King in a satirical and humorous perspective which means I have created the work that could lead me to jail if I released it in my motherland. I strongly hope that Thailand will one day reach a state where individuals are able to freely and openly express their opinions and views on the monarchy and its power without fear of repercussions.
This film corresponds to the idea of the meta-cinema where it is informing the audience that they are watching something that is not real. But In order to enjoy the film, they have to believe in what they see. This also showed in my previous experimental film called “Turning Tide and Cataract”. The main point of this film is to depict the terms “Continuity”, “Disturbance” and “Exaggeration” that I got from my analytical research about film editing and cinematography techniques.
Since I’m fascinated by creating both moving and still images. In my previous commercial product photography, it’s primarily focused on superficial appearance. However, The Holy Sponge delves into the history and meaning of the objects.
I am interested in exploring mundane objects and still life photography. As well as my attempt to take a photo every day based on a monthly theme, inspired by the “Scratch Directory” session where individuals will set up the rule for starting any action. Plus with the idea of “Exquisite corpse” which is a game where players take turns adding writing or drawing to a sheet of paper, which is then folded to hide their contribution before being passed to the next player. So I gather the terms (starting with something that..) from asking different people and set up the rule. For example, the first of every month, I will take a photo of something that can be torn apart. And in January I will take photos of trash. That means on the first of January I will set a photoshoot of something that can be torn apart with trash. I believe it’s a good way of generating new images. And it challenges me to produce new images and improve my still life shooting and lighting skills.
This disciplinary practice is also inspired by the project "Today," or "Date Paintings." by On Kawara where he paints the typography of today's date on canvas every day.
And another project that focuses on time is from performance artist, Teching Hsieh, where he took a self-portrait every hour for an entire year.
I aim to produce work consistently and hope that by the end of the year, I will have 365 photos with different concepts that might reveal connections and inspire me to take this project to the next level.