ความทรงจำ | Memories

ความทรงจำ means memory in Thai. It is something that everyone has and experiences no matter who you are. ความทรงจำ starts since we were born. Sometimes we remember it and other times we do not. ความทรงจำ is always part of us and it is within us. 

This interactive art piece works around the idea of nostalgia. Nostalgia does not have the same meaning as ความทรงจำ but ความทรงจำ could lead to a nostalgic feeling. They are relevant. 

I often think of my past experiences, old friends, and places I have been to, or sometimes it is just a small good moment in the past. It is not exactly homesick and it is not always sad. It sometimes makes me smile. It is a difficult feeling to explain but it makes me wish to return to those moments. 

I have been moving a lot since I was young and I also like traveling. I have been making friends along my journey and have created a lot of good memories with people and places. It sounds good, right? but the result of knowing people from many different places is that I never feel complete at home again. It is like a piece of me has fallen off everywhere I have been. I keep missing the time and moment in different places. I feel struggling with where I belong and who I am. I got confused a lot about my life purpose and what I want or where I want to be. I still cannot find the answer but I try hard to put myself together and keep moving forward. 

This feeling of missing the good old days, I believe is nostalgia. And I do believe that everyone has once experienced this feeling. Although you never travel so much, just moving from your parents’ house to school, you probably have missed some moments or some time you used to spend with your parents or friends, or even your old bedroom. 

The images on the piece are my own experiences from different places and moments. They may not be the same as yours and I do not say that everyone will experience the same thing as me but maybe something similar. I hope it could connect to the feeling of missing your old good memories. 

Through this interactive and performative art piece, I would like to share this experience of struggling with the feeling of missing some pieces of my life. The experience of me trying to put myself back together is like putting the puzzle together. We all are searching for the right direction for our life and future, like finding the right piece of the puzzle to make a whole completed work. I hope the audience feels my struggle but is also fun and excited at the same time while putting the puzzle together, and also think of their good old days while exploring my pieces. In the end, as the puzzle is put all together, I hope the audience can relate to my experiences by thinking of the experiences they have missed and have nostalgia for. 

Fun Fact

Idea = Nostalgia

Puzzle pieces = pieces of me | my memories’ pieces

Process of putting puzzle = the struggle in life

Images = moments | memories | places I have been

34 pieces = the number of countries I have been to (34 countries counting Hong Kong & Macau as part of China, otherwise, 36ใ

Circle Shape = the globe

Wording = ความทรงจำ means memory in Thai