I'm not really a big fan of video art, obviously depending on what it is my interest can be lengthened! We had an artist come visit us last year in Southport College called Shelagh Flanahan (her names irish... probably, it was still pronounced 'Sheila') maybe it was because we had a full day of watching her watching herself brushing her hair in the mirror; watching her eat her breakfast whilst crying; watching her blow smoke out of her mouth and then sucking it back in again... but, in brutal honesty, I was bored to tears for best part of that day.
As a result, as soon as I walked into the FACT, I was a little anxious... and felt a slight pang of disappointment. As soon as you walk in, 6 screens are thrust at you, all seperately screaming information. It was a bit much to take in all at once. It was pretty harsh, loud and after looking around in the dark for an explanation after a few minutes I gave up.
In the end, I did find one... explaining the artists biography and explaining his struggles with his native homeland of Thailand.
Apichatpong Weerasethakul is regarded as a central figure in the comtemporary cinema world. His 'Primitive' exhibition in FACT is his first UK solo exhibition; comprising of a multi-screen video installation. The videos were filmed in a village in the Renu Nakhon dirstrict of Thailand, called Nabua. During the 1960's, brutal clashes between the communist communities and the Thai military took place there. The project is about re-inventing Nabua, a place where sadly, memories and ideologies have been forgotten. For the project, Weerasethakul invited teenage decendants of the communist farmers to dream up fabricated memories through the building of a spaceship in the rice fields. I only just understand this now, having read about it.
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