BANGKOK: THE STORY OF A CITY

Bangkok: The Story of A City is a video installation that represents the constant evolution of Bangkok and its people throughout its history and into the future. The installation considers the ‘library,’ metaphorically, as a witness, and literally, as an infinite collection of books describing Bangkok and its people. Books collected for the artwork from the Central Library of Chulalongkorn University and later from the National Library of Bangkok are records that reflect the ever-changing identity of the city. In the exhibition space, a library scene is recreated in which books about the city are categorized under the keyword “Bangkok,” and lie amidst the usual library paraphernalia. Original images and sounds from the libraries are edited and dramatized to achieve a new effect. For example, the crashing sound of books falling on one another when being removed suggests the collapse of bricks in a dilapidated building—evidence of a changing cityscape. One can contemplate the perspective from which the author describes the city, and later, the viewpoint from which the audience witnesses and responds to the installation.