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Apichatpong Weerasethakul

APICHATPONG WEERASETHAKUL

Apichatpong Weerasethakul: Primitive M+ 8 March–14 July 2024 Hong Kong
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Press Release

Marking the first time the work is displayed in Hong Kong, Primitive (2009) by Thai artist and filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul (b. 1970) is a multi-channel video installation that also incorporates two other short films and an artist’s book. It represents a pivotal moment in the artist’s career when the bridging of visual art, moving image, and cinema became a defining aspect of his practice. A visionary of our contemporary condition, Weerasethakul is known for his experiments with non-narrative structures and states of possibility. Elements of Primitive also came to form Weerasethakul’s feature film Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010), which won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. 

Shot in Nabua in northeastern Thailand, Primitive follows the activities of teenagers and observes their conversations, songs, and dreams. Woven into tender portraits and evocations of violence are enigmatic motifs of light, apparitions, and otherworldly journeys. With these components, Weerasethakul destabilises conventional notions of time and deepens the connective spaces between reality and imagination. Grounded in local and personal histories, Primitive imbues these accounts with a universal, mystical resonance.

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About the Artist

The winner of 2010 Palme d’Or, Apichatpong ‘Joe’ Weerasethakul is an internationally renowned Thai independent filmmaker and artist. He currently lives and works in Chiang Mai, a hub of folk art and crafts in Thailand. Born in 1970 in a Thai-Chinese middle-class family, Weerasethakul grew up in Khon Kaen, Isaan, a city in Northeast Thailand that is one of the most impoverished regions and a melting pot of Vietnamese and Cambodian cultures, where his parents practiced medicine.

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Also Exhibiting at M+

All Exhibitions
Heri Dono: Fermentation of the Mind M+ 30 May–25 October 2026 Hong Kong
Wael Shawky: I Am Hymns of the New Temples M+ 30 May–25 October 2026 Hong Kong
Dial-A-Poem Hong Kong M+ 25 April–30 August 2026 Hong Kong
Lee Bul: From 1998 to Now M+ 14 March–9 August 2026 Hong Kong
About the Gallery

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Address
West Kowloon Cultural District
38 Museum Drive
Kowloon
Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Opening Hours
Tuesday – Sunday, 10am – 6pm
Fridays, 10am – 10pm
Closed Mondays
(1)
Hong Kong West Kowloon Cultural District, 38 Museum Drive
M contemporary art institution in Hong Kong
M+
West Kowloon Cultural District, 38 Museum Drive, Kowloon, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
+852 2200 0217
http://www.mplus.org.hk

Opening hours
Tuesday – Sunday, 10am – 6pm
Fridays, 10am – 10pm
Closed Mondays
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