Myanmar Anatomy

This essayistic exploration of Myanmar’s history is presented in three chapters and rooted in three locations: Yangon Zoological Gardens, the Yangon Circle Railway, and the Drug Elimination Museum. The stories behind these sites are juxtaposed with the voices of Myanmar activists who were forced to flee the country. The collage of voices and places is layered with a series of moving images of animals emancipating themselves from the zoo and roaming the city of Yangon.

Prapat Jiwarangsan is a visual artist and film director from Thailand. In his creative explorations, he incorporates a variety of media, particularly photography, slides, and videos, to investigate and represent the relationships between history, memory, and politics in Thailand – especially in relation to the theme of migration. Jiwarangsan graduated from the Royal College of Art (RCA) and has spent the last six years researching and making artwork that tackles the issues faced by migrant workers in Southeast Asia, a notable result of which is Ploy, selected in 2021 for Forum Expanded.

Production Graiwoot Chulphongsathorn. Production companies Prapat Jiwarangsan’s Studio (Bangkok, Thailand), Christine Tohme (Sharjah, United Arab Emirates). Director Prapat Jiwarangsan. Screenplay Prapat Jiwarangsan. Cinematography Prapat Jiwarangsan. Editing Prapat Jiwarangsan. Production design Prapat Jiwarangsan. Animation Prapat Jiwarangsan. Executive producer Graiwoot Chulphongsathorn.

Films (selection): 2009: Mirror Mask (2 min.). 2010: The Measure of Time (12 min.), Hope to Dwell in Fear (video installation). 2012: I Will Never Smile Again (video installation). 2014: Artists Sick (4 min), In the Asylum Garden (video installation). 2015: Dok-Rak / The Asylum (9 min.). 2016: Aesthetics 101 (3 min.), Dust Under Feet (video installation), Asylum Seeker: The Pond and the Firefly (video installation). 2018: The Wandering Ghosts (20 min.), Destination Nowhere (7 min.). 2019: Nocturnal Flowers (video installation), Non-chronological History (video installation), Aesthetics 101 (video installation). 2020: Ploy (51 min., Forum Expanded 2021). 2021: Parasite Family (5 min., video installation, Forum Expanded 2022). 2023: Myanmar Anatomy.