Curatorial Relationship is a filmic essay that interrogates the relationship between the photograph, memory, and history. Through the lens of funeral ceremonies, it explores how the modern Thai nation-state utilizes the photographic image and collective memory as political tools. The discourse of funeral portraits ultimately centers on relationships, and the shift from personal memories to a public ceremony reflects state-sponsored power over individual experiences. The film investigates the ways in which family photographs and intimate memories are employed by the state as political instruments. Family photographs are interpreted as alternate projections of historical memory, curated with a different form of narration to construct a visual essay that delves into the relationship between personal recollection and collective histories. Simultaneously, the film attempts to expose the relationship between the individual citizen-subject and the modern Thai nation-state, highlighting the apparent inequality in contemporary Thai political life. This inequality results from political structures embedded in everyday life, and the social practices that reinforce this disparity are examined through the visual culture of death and its rituals.
