Sink into Pieces of Art through the Eyes of the Privileged Man

Dujdao Vadhanapakorn is well-known for her talents as both an actor and a dancer. Her importance in the dance world transcends the performance space; she was the first to use dance as a form of psychotherapy in Thailand. As she is so well-known for her film roles, fans will have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to get to know her and her performances better when her films are released on home video. There are only five days left until the premiere of “Afterlight” on BACC’s level 8 on November 20, 2018. Each night at 7 o’clock, an exceptional group performance will complement the live performance and multimedia display. To be “Beyond Bliss” is to reassess our quest for ultimate perfection and the enjoyment it brings and to accept the unending goodness in our life, which is the argument that “Afterlight” is making.

“You’re the most privileged person in this room,” my professor once told me. I wonder whether it is accurate or if she just randomly picks me up. Having visited the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre in an effort to find out and crystallise some ideas about women’s topics on my mind, I was effusively triggered to ponder a lot of things that I usually wouldn’t think of. Something that somehow we all believe is neutral, ordinary, and insignificant.

Like this perfect piece of performative art that I run into, I believe it is one of the most outstanding ones, named “Afterlight” by Dujdao Vadhanapakorn.

The setting of her performance, like the old building, the worn-off cupboard, the peeling-off wall, and the exhibition, is the light installation that starts from the lower ground and gradually inclines in height until it gets harder and harder to reach. All the surroundings and the performance creep me out when she starts to move unnatural parts of her body. I feel like she is fighting with some invisible force—her inner self—that, in one way or another, goes against her will or maybe what society expects her to be. One arm moves forward while the other tries to snatch another component back. Or when she is perversely laying herself down, trying to somehow parallel somehow those parts of old concrete buildings or worn-out cabinets, the combination of the blue lights, the sound effect of dark thrill ambience, and the acting personally gives me the sense of disturbing feelings but also food for thought at the same time.