Like Dante guided by Virgil, Marina Abramovic drifts through the purgatory that is Bangkok chaperoned by the little monkey prince. After praying at shrines and temples of assorted spiritual inclinations, she is taken to the Monkey King (Pichet Klunchun), whose rhymed, melodic prophecy finally guides Abramovic to the prayer hall of Wat Pho where her salvation awaits clad in a saffron robe.
Part fiction, part travelogue and part a contemplative exercise in directing one of the world’s best-known artistic personalities, The Spirits Of Maritime Crossing is a 30-minute film conceived by Apinan Poshyananda, artistic director of the Bangkok Art Biennale (BAB).
Hence the film also serves as an appendage to BAB, in which Abramovic, a foremost practitioner of long-duration performance art, has taken part since its first edition in 2018 right up to the most recent one last…
