The Chiang Mai-based contemporary artist Chai Siris received international acclaim for his show at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris in the summer of 2015. This confirmed his presence on the international art stage. After starting his career as a writer, Chai Siris soon found his calling as a photographer and became a frequent collaborator with Apichatpong Weerasethakul. His onset photography and collaborations with Apichatpong were always vivid and clear. His photography gives an insight into that magical world of the director. Their collaboration Dilbar won the Artist’s prize at the Sharjah Biennale in 2013. As an artist, Chai explores ideas of memory and realization, seamlessly weaving a world that combines personal experiences, memories, dreams, and the political and social contexts in which we live. He does this with a touch that is uniquely his, subtle yet with certain symmetry and poignancy that calls you back to examine what he does. This year he released his short film Tales of 500,000 Years, which premiered at the Venice Biennale. For those who have experienced his work, most will agree that what he is doing captures our time and provokes us to think about where we come from and where we are going.
