It comes and goes in the sea

The first part of a series of the project will take place on the island of Koh Mak, the island close to Koh Chang in the golf
of Thailand. The island has a surface of about 16 km ², rich in 1000 inhabitants and the main activities are fishing, the exploitation of coconut and rubber.
In February, 2009, I was invited on this island for about ten days to study the possibility of making a work.I was struck by the beauty of beaches and protected virgin forest.

But I was also amazed by objects which decorate beaches, came from the sea which were considered as wastes. There are objects from daily life such as shoes, hats, bottles, electric bulbs, food packaging, toothbrushes, lighters, and food...
These objects speak to us about those who live in the surroundings and at once give birth to stories.

Who arrived at the moment when the object fell, there, on the beach?

What happened before it went into the sea?
To whom belonged this balloon?
Is it the present of a father to his daughter to celebrate the New Year?
Is it the prize of a competition that this little boy won and had it escape accidentally?

The scenarios to be imagined are many, from these objects which crossed the sea, this vast ground of adventure. For me, these objects transformed by the voyage in the sea and returned to the ground are simply fascinating. They awake the imagination, inspire a poetic quality and, in certain aspects they are survivors as people transformed them through their lives .
Strangely, beaches seem fuller in front of virgin territories and to walk in the middle of its objects, bend over them, to observe them, and to document them is not far from archaeology of the contemporary life.

Having lived next to the water, I know that tourism brings in its first batch of cigarette butts and broken beer bottles and then the more it grows, the waste is less apparent.We makes them disappear. I want to keep track of these traces of lives, as if we could document the time that had passed .

And also the relationship to the water merits explorations.We often see the passengers on boats and also workers throw their rubbish without thinking of the consequences.isn't it in certain aspect, natural to trust in water to clean thoroughly our waste ?
I would like to explore the relationship to these objects and the idea of cleansing through water with a Thai festivity called Loy Krathong : Loi Krathong takes place on the evening of the full moon of the 12th month in the traditional Thai lunar calendar. In the western calendar this usually falls in November. "Loi" means "to float" and a "krathong" is traditionally made from a section of banana tree trunk. Originally people sent out boats because of the symbolic idea to let go of all one's grudges, anger and defilements, so that one can start life afresh on a better foot.  The preferable place to experience this festival will be in Chang Mai.

The idea is to create a series of works based on photography, sound, video, sculpture, drawing and writing. present the works in form of photography prints, installation and multimedia work ( sound and image work.)To  exhibit this on the Island and in Bangkok as well as in Europe.

By being interested in the objects and enjoy them, these objects can become  other things than garbage and an act to collect them becomes the act that contains diverse meanings.

I would like to use this opportunity so that we think not only of getting rid of them, but so that we discover what these objects really are, how they color our everyday life, when they are used, what leads us to abandon them, to abandon them in the water and how the attention and the imagination can give them another life. Maybe it will also be a way to create an understanding in the notion of waste management.

This work will be based on the relationships between people who live on the shore and these objects.

Isn't it in certain aspect, logical
to trust in water to clean our waste ?

The project outline

Aim : create a series of art work based on objects that traveled in the sea with photography, sound, video, sculpture, drawing and writing.
Present the works in form of photography prints, installation and multimedia work ( sound and image work.) Exhibit this on the Island and in Bangkok as well as in Europe.

Goal: To create art works based on the relationship between these objects, people and water.

To question the idea of trusting the water to clean the past in connection to Loy Crathong festival (in Chang Mai) and these objects.
To visually discover theses objects for their qualities, how they color our everyday life, when they are used, what leads us to abandon them.
To give an attention and an imagination to the objects for another life.
To create a deeper understanding in the notion of waste management through art works.

Long term goal : To create a collective project, a workshop on the island, inviting locals and tourists of all ages to participate in the process and creation.

Where: Chang Mai, Koh Mak and Bangkok, Thailand

When: November - December

How long : 10 days in Chang Mai
                    21 days in Koh Mak
                   10 days in Bangkok
 
2-6 months of creation based on the material collected in Thailand.
                                            
What : to collect the objects, photograph, record sound, write, video the objects and it's surrounding.
Get in contact with people who live there, locals and tourists, speak,record, photograph and video them in relation to the objects and festivity.

Content of work:

Koh Mak

Walk : 6:30- 8:30, 4:00-5:30
every morning to collect objects and photograph, record sound, video

Organize, observe and meet : 9:00-15:30
Clean, dry and classify objects,Observe, photograph, video, the objects, Meet people to speak about the objects, people cleaning the beach, tourist and locals.

Chang Mai

Walk, meet and observe:
Photograph the preparation of the festival, during the festival and after the festival, record the sound, meet people and find objects and collect them. Meet people from cultural sectors to speak of possibility in the future collaboration for the project especially for exhibition.

Bangkok
Meet, walk and observe: Meet people from cultural sector, concerning the project, possibility of collaboration in the future for exhibition.
Meet diverse people to speak of these objects and the festivals, photograph,records sound and video the meetings. walk by the river to observe the relationship between water,people and objects.

Collect : I will collect the objects that speak to me in one bag and in the other bag, I collect the other things I don't want. Observe the objects in the both bags to document them and learn the reason for my choices.

Recording : recording will be ambient sound and people's voices. The recording will be done with portable recorder  with external micro phones. This will be registered in good sound quality than will be suitable for the work.

Photograph: All the photographs will be in 35mm, 4x5 inch, color negative, positive and black and white film. The notes will be photographed in digital camera.

Video: small HD Video camera