I tried to recall my past as far back as I could, searching for the first image in my memory bank. Many events emerged. Some of them I never thought I would see again, like the time I was home alone waiting for my two brothers to come back from school, or the first day at school when my parents left me with strangers and sneak back in secret.

I remember several movies from my youth that their scenes remained visible until now, especially those ghost stories. However, their narratives were scattered, re-arranged, and mixed up with my real experience.

A fragmented story materialized by a combination of my own past, of the pictures from a book, from a screen, from a wall.

There was a photo of someone in my father’s wallet. The portrait was faded beyond recognition. But he still kept it because he remembered the original photo, which in turn reminded him of the real person. When the images deteriorate, their spirits linger. We are holding on to such spirits, millions of them. Perhaps this attachment is part of our existence, so that we can remember ourselves.

Chaisiri Jiwarangsan was born in 1983, in Bangkok. He is photographer for an independent film company, Kick the Machine Films. He currently lives and works in Chaing Mai, Thailand.

Selected Exhibitions

- Stills from a short film, Vampire by Apichatpong Weerasethakul, as part of four short films screening for TRAVELING project at Espace Louis Vitton, Paris, 2008

- Sanam Luang, at a group show of La Fete’s FACE TO FACES: MONTH OF PHOTOGRAPHY, Silom Galleria, Bangkok, 2008

- Unforgettable, Photos and Video installation show at Chiang Mai University Gallery, 2008

- Kitten’s Head, at a group show of Cat Party, Kind Cat Studio,
Chiang Mai, 2009

- Healing, Photos and Video installation, SOL Art Space, Bangkok, 2009