Jakrawal Nilthamrong

Invalid Throne

Jakrawal Nilthamrong is a Thai artist and filmmaker who came to prominence for his unconventional approach to filmmaking. Conceptually, Nilthamrong interweaves Thai and Indian religious notions and practices which embody the complexity and imaginative capacity of the subject and viewer. From short films and documentaries to video installations and feature films, his works often incorporate concepts from Buddhism and East Asian philosophies, which acquire new meanings when revisited in a contemporary context. Nilthamrong’s approach is experimental with a purely cinematic language and surrealist aspects, his cinematic narratives investigate the idea of global change, questioning the idea of a human-centered worldview. Influenced by surrealist figures such as Salvador Dalí and Luis Buñuel, Nilthamrong’s films are characterized by their enigmatic nature, lack of a linear narrative, and their use of the non-sequitur. Some of the recurring themes in his work include karma, reincarnation and destiny, drawing on his own beliefs as a practicing Buddhist in order to explore painful events in Thailand’s history and their resulting trauma. The results are perplexing and complex films that follow their own internal logic and defy easy interpretation, slipping between past and present, the real and the imagined.