Nanut Thanapornrapee
Roleplaying as mode of resistance
By Ian Tee
Nanut Thanapornrapee, ‘HAWIWI: I Wish I Wrote a History’, 2021, hardcover book, dual-channel video, card game, generated image. Exhibition view at ‘A Verse on Uncomposed Surface: A Gathering of Becoming Stories’, EX SPACE, Sanam Chandra Art Gallery, Silpakorn University, Nakhon Pathom. Image courtesy of the artist.
Nanut Thanapornrapee’s practice explores the connections among memory, history and technology. Born in 1995 in Bangkok, he holds an undergraduate degree in Journalism and Mass Communication (majoring in Film and Photography) from Thammasat University. His work evinces a deep understanding of the power of media. The artist even cites the iconic photograph of a lynched student taken during the 6 October 1976 massacre as a pivotal moment that changed his perception of Thai history. Nanut hopes that he is able to trigger his audience’s curiosity about their memories so that they would similarly question conservative historical narratives.
Nanut Thanapornrapee, ‘HAWIWI: I Wish I Wrote a History’ Card Making Workshop, 2021. Image courtesy of the artist.
Nanut Thanapornrapee, ‘HAWIWI: I Wish I Wrote a History’, 2021, card game. Image courtesy of the artist.
In the last two years, Nanut’s approach has expanded to include both audience participation and the utilisation of generated images and text. Such a methodology challenges conventional modes of image-making and storytelling, by allowing participants to exercise their agency through gameplay. An example is ‘HAWIWI: I Wish I Wrote a History’ (2021), a project aimed at retelling local histories in Ratchaburi, Thailand. The artist first conducted research into the city’s context and spoke to elders about their memories of ancestors. Local students then visualised places, people and events related to the city’s history as playing card designs which were used in a board game.
Next, Nanut invited members of a high school archaeology club to retell their city’s history through the board game. Its game mechanics were inspired by ‘Once Upon a Time’ (Atlas Game, 1994), where players have to compete by rewriting and stealing other’s narratives in order to win. Nanut likens this gameplay to the “narrative war” operating in the real world where victors write the history books. He believes that by giving participants the power to control their own history, it empowers their individual voice and also ignites questions about grand narratives.
“He believes that by giving participants the power to control their own history, it empowers their individual voice and also ignites questions about grand narratives.”
Nanut Thanapornrapee, ‘This History is Auto-Generated’ (video still), 2022, generated images, 3D animation. Image courtesy of the artist.
Nanut Thanapornrapee, ‘This History is Auto-Generated’ (video still), 2022, generated images, 3D animation. Image courtesy of the artist.
Nanut Thanapornrapee, ‘This History is Auto-Generated’ (diagram), 2022. Image courtesy of the artist.
Similarly, Nanut’s latest work ‘This History is Auto-Generated’ (2022) explores the complex ways our understanding of history intersects with technology. A language processing artificial intelligence software is employed to create scripted timelines based on key moments in Thai history. Audiences are then invited to play through these scenarios in an interactive novel format, where they can change the path of history. As such, parallel “histories” are created through the game, which ranges from the plausible to the absurd.
However, as the work’s title suggests, the players’ actions are limited by the framework of the game. In his artist statement, he states, “Today our memories are not only controlled by histories but also by algorithms and automation.” He cites how the algorithm consumes our past activity to influence our future actions through advertisement, and also reminds us of our past memories through news feeds of our friends. The project extends into real life workshops where Nanut and participants discuss possible solutions that can be enacted.
‘This History is Auto-Generated’ is layered in its reproduction of our technologically-mediated era. It taps into the new possibilities enabled by machine learning but also acknowledges its problematic social consequences when left unchecked. Rather than being a catalyst for polarisation, Nanut’s works create spaces for discourse.
Click here to read our dialogue with Nanut Thanapornrapee.
‘This History is Auto-Generated’ is on view from 13 August to 30 September 2022, at WTF Gallery & Café, Bangkok, Thailand.
