Artist: Krit Ngamsom
Technique: Installation
Year: 2019
Dimensions: 240 x 165cm

“Cabinet of History exhibited at the Thai Pavilion in 2019’s Venice Biennale. In this series of work, I chose to focus on a piece of history from Rama V period. From my direct and indirect experience, this art piece has a wonderful story to do with the Hualumphong train station; I met an Italian artist when I was an artist assistant at the 52nd Venice Biennale in 2007 to Professor Nipan Oranniwesna. He told me that his great-grandfather was one of the builders of many monuments in Thailand during the reign of Rama V. When I started to research on the subject, historical records state that his great-grandfather was indeed one of the soldiers that came to Thailand, whose family name was Yerini.”

“Photographs from that period are kept in great condition at this house. With stories like these that relate Thailand and Italy together, it inspired me to take the architectural form of Hualamphong station and the silhouette of waterside Venetian buildings, which are the prototype of the Royal Thai Government building, together to create one part of “Cabinet of History”. This piece acts as the keeper of history, and through its architecture, culture as well. Despite being in different continents, our relations are also connected through different objects found in the cabinet.”