SEOUL — A new chapter in Asian contemporary art commenced in Seoul on Thursday when Thai artist Apichatpong Weerasethakul won the inaugural Asia Art Award.
The 40-year-old artist said it was "surreal" to learn that he had beaten the five other finalists from throughout Asia to take the prize, which is sponsored primarily by the CJ Cultural Foundation, an offshoot of retail and entertainment conglomerate CJ Group. The award, which is open to artists, up to age 40, comes with a prize of $20,000.
Weerasethakul won the award with a video titled "Phantoms of Nabua." He told The Japan Times that the work, which was shot in the northeastern Thai village of Nabua and at one point depicts boys playing soccer at night with a flaming ball, is about "juxtaposing light and dark, happiness and sadness, danger and pleasure."