Apichatpong Weerasethakul
sarit
2018
From Video Diaries series, 2001-2021
Single-Channel Video, SD Digital, color,
2:00 minutes
The bas-relief represents Sarit Thanarat, former Thai prime minister who ruled Thailand in the early 1960s. This wall is located in Khon Kaen, where Apichatpong Weerasethakul grew up. The artist represented Sarit in various artworks, calling into question the value of his sculpture as an object of worship and as a glorification of the role of the army in Thai politics. For Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Sarit was a product of American involvement during the Cold War and an archetype of generals of the army who subsequently took power
through coups d’état, including the most recent in 2014.
