ALL THAT THE EYES CANNOT SEE

Dujdao Vadhanapakorn talks about her performance- art installation Blissfully Blind

Would you rather be blissfully blind or painfully aware?

In Blissfully Blind directed by Dujdao Vadhanapakorn, the B-Floor troupe continues its engagement in social discourses through an experimental performance that reflects this epoch, in which conflicting narratives are obscured and discordant views negated.

Blissfully Blind, which opened last night at CityCity Gallery and is on show until July 30, is a much-expected show combining Dujdao’s careful observation of socio-political interactions at the micro-level and enthralling physical performance. It also features light installations by Zieght, which adds another dimension to the experience.

Over many years, B-Floor has established itself as a theatre company that confronts the thorny issues of society, from politics to class to social repression, and Dujdao, a certified dance therapist and play director, has been instrumental in introducing new discourses through the use of physical movement and dance symbolism.

Life chatted with Dujdao, a multi-award-winning actress, performer and director.

BlissfullyBlind is essentially about how we choose to see some facts or elements and how we deliberately ignore other such facts. What inspired you to turn this situation into a performance?

I have been observing the political situation in Thailand for the past couple of years: the political changes we’ve gone through, how we’re governed and our interactions with each other where politics is concerned.

I notice how we are all invoking facts, figures and the news, and referring to ‘the truth’ when we debate — but our narratives differ completely. It seemed to me as though people have two or more different sets of information regarding an event. More so, we refuse to hear or see, automatically reject and invalidate the facts presented by a person with an opinion different from ours.

Over the years, I’ve asked myself constantly, ‘Why can’t we see each other’s truth?’.

But such polarisation isn’t completely new. Has it worsened since 2014?

It’s not just political division. The way Thai society functions, it’s conducive to this ‘blindness’. We are taught to listen to and to believe, unconditionally, our elders, to show loyalty — sometimes having to suppress or sacrifice our own convictions. When such tension or contradiction exists between our beliefs and the way we were taught, it threatens our existence. Sometimes it becomes easier to turn a blind eye to one or the other. I don’t blame anyone. Everyone has his or her blind spot, and it’s perfectly normal. But it has become exacerbated in the current political climate.

How did you translate these everyday situations into physical performance?

As a psychotherapist, I first needed to identify the rea

sons behind this phenomenon. I spent a lot of time reading and observing people’s reactions to news and events on social media and had a sort of laboratory. I conducted a series of exercises and experiments with my troupe.

For example, I told everyone to write an essay about how they see Thailand then give it to another performer. Then I had them cut words from their partners’ essays, without giving any further instructions. The choice of words to cut out was theirs alone and completely arbitrary. I asked what motivated their choices and by what logic they were driven. Answers were often subjective: ‘I don’t like this word’; ‘I don’t like its meaning’; ‘It’s an ugly word’.

Once I had identified those reasons for why one chooses to be blind, it was easier to imagine phys

ical movements and scenes that would play out as experiences.

Your last work dealt mainly with therapy. Is Blissfully Blind intended to be a therapy of sorts for the audience or Thai society?

People come to my performances expecting catharsis. But Blissfully Blind doesn’t work that way. I think the show will highlight our insecurities, but it’s up to each and everyone to decide what to do next.

Choosing to be ‘blind’ is a defence mechanism. That’s my viewpoint, as a psychotherapist. It’s easier to live with a truth we’re comfortable with.

But I personally think we should increase our degree of insecurity bit by bit and be more receptive to divergent ideas. We will feel insecure when confronted with them, but our comfort zone will gradually expand and we’ll get to see a bigger picture.

I think Thais have a rather low level of tolerance in the present climate.

The light installation by Zieght is an essential component of your performance. How did the collaboration come about?

I first collaborated with Mont Watanasiriroch from Zieght on another show, during the first edition of the Wonderfruit festival.

For Blissfully Blind, the concept of light was essential. We choose to ‘shine a light’ on certain events and ‘eclipse’ other information.

Usually, we do our set design ourselves, because it’s such an important part of our performances. But once I came up with this idea of light, I immediately thought about Zieght, and Mont created the installation specifically for this work based on our discussions.

You are performing this time in a gallery, rather than on a traditional stage. How does it feel?

A theatre stage is like a black box. You’re completely cut off from the outside world and there’s a tacit pact with the audience: when you enter a theatre, you know that what you’re about to see isn’t real, that it’s pure fantasy.

It’s the artist’s role to fill this box and to create a world. For this performance, I wanted the opposite. I wanted to be closer to the audience, to have less screens separating us.

When I saw CityCity Gallery, I fell in love with the white, bare walls and the high ceilings. It’s very spacious and airy, but also connected to the outside world.

You hear the raindrops fall on the roof during a storm, and when the sun shines through, the rays almost blind you.

Your troupe is composed of five women. Did you want to work exclusively with female performers?

To be perfectly honest, it wasn’t a conscious choice. When I’m creating and working, I mostly hear my own voice — a female voice. I see female bodies moving. But Blissfully Blind could be performed by a male cast as well.

In such a polarised society, can art and performance serve as a common platform, a focal point that we can all be looking at? With its use of aesthetics, symbolism or feelings and experiences, can art reach through to people in novel ways?

I think that you can look at artworks or performances for a longer time before you reject them or form a negative opinion — as opposed to, let’s say, television news or a political speech, where you’d be tempted to switch channels much faster.

In that moment you’re taking to look at something new, you’re already being confronted with someone else’s vision and taking in the experience. So, yes — art has the privilege of time.

Blissfully Blind is performed every day except Tuesdays and Wednesdays until July 30 at Bangkok CityCity Gallery, Sathon 1. Tickets cost 700 baht. The light installation, which is part of the show, is open for free viewing from 1-5pm on weekends. Call 094-494- 5104 for details.

Choosing to be ‘blind’ is a defence mechanism. It’s easier to live with a truth we’re comfortable with