Synopsis

Roundabout at km 0 portrays the pausing and reversing of travel around a roundabout through moving images. The roundabout’s location is “kilometer zero,” the starting point of Thailand’s national highway system—and most significantly, also the location of Thailand’s Democracy Monument. This place has been delineated as the “beginning” of all roads—literal and figurative—throughout Thailand. It’s also possible to run those roads in reverse. The work uses this Bangkok location, which every Thai person will recognize, but perhaps without appreciating its meaning. The struggle between Thailand’s ideological poles has led to stalemate and stagnation of both ruler and system. Thai people seem blind to the clear picture of a brighter future—all is blurred. The audio that coincides with the moving images is a mixture of audio recordings pulled from YouTube videos of incidents of the Thai military cracking down on demonstrations that have taken place right after the coup on 22 May 2014.