The Phi Ta Khon Project
Title
In 2008 Alex Kershaw traveled to Dansai, a small town in Loei Province of Northeast Thailand on an Asialink Grant. His project was made in collaboration with the town council, village spirit leader and community during their annual Phi Ta Khon festival. Translated as 'ghosts follow people', Phi Ta Khon combines animist, Brahmin and Buddhist traditions. These articulate the bonds between the dead and the living, between sexual and agricultural fertility, between the community and their spirit-infested natural world.
Magic realist in approach, the video weaves harvest landscapes through documents of the festival and choreographed sequences where local farmers, food vendors and council employees are the actors. The Phi Ta Khon Project reassembles a video image of Dansai through a series of displacements—orchestrated twists of context and materials, challenging their traditional roles and meanings.
GRANTPIRRIE exhibition (2009)
55th International Short film Festival Oberhausen, Germany
Exhibition Catalogue for GRANTIPRRIE show by David Teh (2009)
Interview with Amber McCulloch for Artworld - (2008)
The Phi Ta Khon Project
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| Title: | The Phi Ta Khon Project |
| Year: | 2008-2009 |
| Media: | Installation view HDV 1080p25 / Quicktime files Courtesy the artist and GRANTPIRRIE |
The Phi Ta Khon Project
 |
|
| Title: | The Phi Ta Khon Project |
| Year: | 2008-2009 |
| Media: | Installation view HDV 1080p25 / Quicktime files Courtesy the artist and GRANTPIRRIE |
The Phi Ta Khon Project
 |
|
| Title: | The Phi Ta Khon Project |
| Year: | 2008-2009 |
| Media: | Installation view HDV 1080p25 / Quicktime files Courtesy the artist and GRANTPIRRIE |
The Phi Ta Khon Project
 |
|
| Title: | The Phi Ta Khon Project |
| Year: | 2008-2009 |
| Media: | Installation view HDV 1080p25 / Quicktime files Courtesy the artist and GRANTPIRRIE |
The Phi Ta Khon Project
 |
|
| Title: | The Phi Ta Khon Project |
| Year: | 2008-2009 |
| Media: | Installation view HDV 1080p25 / Quicktime files Courtesy the artist and GRANTPIRRIE |
The Phi Ta Khon Project
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| Title: | The Phi Ta Khon Project |
| Year: | 2008-2009 |
| Media: | Production still HDV 1080p25 / Quicktime files Courtesy the artist and GRANTPIRRIE |
The Phi Ta Khon Project
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|
| Title: | The Phi Ta Khon Project |
| Year: | 2008-2009 |
| Media: | Production still HDV 1080p25 / Quicktime files Courtesy the artist and GRANTPIRRIE |
The Phi Ta Khon Project
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|
| Title: | The Phi Ta Khon Project |
| Year: | 2008-2009 |
| Media: | Production still HDV 1080p25 / Quicktime files Courtesy the artist and GRANTPIRRIE |
The Phi Ta Khon Project
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|
| Title: | The Phi Ta Khon Project |
| Year: | 2008-2009 |
| Media: | Production still HDV 1080p25 / Quicktime files Courtesy the artist and GRANTPIRRIE |
The Phi Ta Khon Project
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|
| Title: | The Phi Ta Khon Project |
| Year: | 2008-2009 |
| Media: | Production still HDV 1080p25 / Quicktime files Courtesy the artist and GRANTPIRRIE |
The Phi Ta Khon Project
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|
| Title: | The Phi Ta Khon Project |
| Year: | 2008-2009 |
| Media: | Production still HDV 1080p25 / Quicktime files Courtesy the artist and GRANTPIRRIE |
The Phi Ta Khon Project
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| Title: | The Phi Ta Khon Project |
| Year: | 2008-2009 |
| Duration: | 2:38 min |
| Media: |
Documentation of exhibition at GRANTPIRRIE, Sydney
HDV 1080p25 / Quicktime files displayed on 40" LCD screens, bamboo, inner tube, century stands, cloth Video courtesy of artist and GRANTPIRRIE |
The Phi Ta Khon Project
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| Title: | The Phi Ta Khon Project |
| Year: | 2008-2009 |
| Duration: | 15:34 min |
| Media: |
Single Channel edit for 55th International Short Film Festival
Oberhausen, Germany HDV 1080p25 Video courtesy of artist and GRANTPIRRIE |
The Phi Ta Khon Project
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Click to Play
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| Title: | The Phi Ta Khon Project |
| Year: | 2008-2009 |
| Duration: | 2:10 min |
| Media: | Sample sequence from edit for GRANTPIRRIE exhibition
HDV 1080p25 / Quicktime files Video courtesy of artist and GRANTPIRRIE |
