Primitive \ Apichatpong Weerasethakul (2009)

Widely regarded as a central figure in contemporary cinema, Thai filmmaker Apichatpong ‘Joe’ Weerasethakul premiered his first UK solo exhibition at FACT as part of the 2009 AND Festival.  Primitive is a multi-screen video installation, two short films, an artist’s book and a music video, harmonising Weerasethakul’s talent as a filmmaker and video artist.

Filmed in the sleepy village of Nabua in the Renu Nakhon district of Thailand, where brutal clashes between communist communities and the Thai military took place in the 1960s, the Primitive project is about re-imagining Nabua – a place where memories and ideologies have been extinguished. For this ambitious project, Weerasethakul invited the teenage male descendants of communist farmers to fabricate new dreams and memories through building a spaceship together in the rice fields.

Drawing from his personal archive of film and photographs, Apichatpong also led a masterclass on 24 September 2009, which a select audience gained valuable insight into this acclaimed artist/filmmakers practice, through the making of Primitive.

Primitive was a multi-platform work commissioned by Abandon Normal Devices and FACT, in partnership with Haus der Kunst, Munich and Animate Projects, London.