Life between the lines

The Japan Foundation Asia Center will present “The Breathing Of Maps”, a series of events based on Siam Mapped: A History Of The GeoBody Of A Nation by Thai historian Thongchai Winichakul.

The project examines the social transformations occurring in the layers of time that lie between maps as it explores the “living geo-bodies” shaped by the ongoing accumulation of human activity.

The project had been held in Yamaguchi, Tokyo, and will be coming to Chiang Mai from Saturday until Jan 30 and Bangkok on Feb 1 as its final destination, with speakers hailing from Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

Maiiam Contemporary Art Museum in Chiang Mai is the venue for a lecture performance by Charnvit Kasetsiri on Jan 25 at 7pm; two talks by Thanavi Chotpradit and Masashi Kohara on Jan 26 at 2pm and 3pm, respectively; a lecture performance by Irwan Ahmett and Tita Salina on Jan 27 at 7pm; a lecture performance by Ho Rui An on Jan 29 at 7pm; and a lecture by Ho Tzu Nyen on Jan 30 at 7pm.

Also featured will be a talk and drinking event with Yudai Kamisato at the Wandering Moon Theatre and Depsiri Gallery, also in Chiang Mai, on Jan 28 at 6pm, followed by a lecture performance by Monthatip Suksopha at 8pm.

In Bangkok, there will be a symposium on “Between Geo-Bodies

And The Unforgetting” at the Araya Hall of Jim Thompson House, Soi Kasem San 2, off Rama I, on Feb 1 from 2-5pm. The speakers include Thongchai Winichakul, Irwan Ahmett, Tita Salina, Kumiko Idaka and Mark Teh.