Korakrit Arunanondchai

Bangkok and New York

Korakrit Arunanondchai’s work is concerned with the ghost in the machine. One of the central ideas that informs his interdisciplinary practice, which spans performance, installation, painting, music and video, is techno-animism: the belief in the spiritual vitality of technological entities, which has its roots in Eastern religious traditions. In 2013, he began work on a series of videos, performances and installations, beginning with Painting with History in a room filled with men with funny names (2013), which follows the story of a Thai painter in conversation with a drone spirit named Chantri, while also taking aim at the adoption of the Western fashion for denim in Thailand. More generally his work – exhibited in solo shows at venues including MoMA PS1, New York, the Palais de Tokyo, Paris, and at the Venice Biennale in 2019 – explores the role of memory, rituals and storytelling across different cultures. In 2018 the artist curated Ghost:2561, a video-art and performance festival in Bangkok, inspired by Ghost Cinema rituals in Thailand, during which monks project films on temple walls to attract spirits. He is currently working on a second edition.

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