Renowned filmmaker and visual artist Apichatpong Weerasethakul experienced a profound moment of self-reflection during the pandemic that fundamentally changed his perspective on artistic creation. While walking in the mountains of Northern Thailand during lockdown, the celebrated director came to a startling realization about his acclaimed body of work, including films that have won the prestigious Palme d'Or and three other prizes at the Cannes Film Festival.

"I appreciated what surrounded me instead of what I created," Weerasethakul explained, describing how the trees and the immensity of nature made him question the very foundation of his artistic endeavors. The gently spoken, monkish director, best known for enigmatic dreamlike fantasies such as "Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives," "Cemetery of Splendour," and the English-language "Memoria," began wondering whether his creations were merely products rather than the results of a genuine artistic journey.

Rather than retreating from art entirely, the 55-year-old filmmaker channeled his existential reflections into a new installation opening at Sydney's Museum of Contemporary Art. Called "A Conversation with the Sun (Afterimage)," the piece features 90 minutes of clips filmed with the small camera he always carries, accompanied by a slowly moving curtain that functions both as a screen and as a ghostlike sculpture. The randomly appearing clips include footage of actress Tilda Swinton staring at a wall, a fire burning, and aerial views of forests.

Weerasethakul's journey to filmmaking began with different aspirations entirely. Born to two doctors, he grew up loving Steven Spielberg's movies, including "E.T." and the Indiana Jones films. He initially studied architecture in Thailand before pursuing filmmaking in Chicago. When he won the Palme d'Or with "Uncle Boonmee" in 2010, he was approached to make independent American films but preferred writing his own scripts and working with his trusted producers. When asked if he was ever offered a Hollywood superhero movie, he responded with characteristic humor: "I wish. That would make my day." However, he quickly clarified that his interest would be purely educational, saying, "I really like special effects so if I do it, it will be to learn that."

For his new installation, Weerasethakul sought to create something fundamentally different from traditional cinema. "I wanted to create something about movement, about components of cinema, about activating space that is not normally there," he explained. The work continues his fascination with dreams, nature, time, ghosts, and memory – themes that have defined his career as one of the masters of slow cinema. After earlier versions were exhibited in Bangkok and Japan, he collaborated with two artists from Bangkok's experimental studio DuckUnit, Rueangrith Suntisuk and Pornpan Arayaveerasid, to create a new version specifically for the Museum of Contemporary Art.

The distinction between film and installation art is crucial to Weerasethakul's artistic philosophy. "In cinemas, you just become zombies," he observed. "Just hypnotized." While he attempts to break down this passive consumption in his films through meditative pacing, unusual sounds, and unexpected framing techniques, installations offer viewers the opportunity to create their own experience. Museum of Contemporary Art senior curator Jane Devery noted that Weerasethakul is rare among artists for having equal status in both film and visual arts. "With film, it's generally 90 minutes long, you sit in a theater and you're kind of directed how to behave and how to experience the work, whereas with installation the viewer has greater agency," she explained. "You can choose what to look at, how much time you spend here, how you move around the work."

Weerasethakul's relationship with his homeland has also evolved significantly since his last visit to Sydney for the 2016 Biennale. At that time, he was planning to make his first film outside Thailand due to concerns about censorship during a politically volatile period. That decision led to "Memoria," featuring Tilda Swinton as a Scottish expatriate in Colombia searching for the source of a strange booming sound that only she could hear. Today, the director is no longer worried about Thai authorities blocking artistic expression. "Questions about authority, the monarchy and all these taboos shifted really quickly and there are more younger people allowed to lead," he said. "As an older generation, I used to lose hope in living there and so-called freedom. Now it's much more open."

Despite this positive change in Thailand's cultural climate, Weerasethakul continues to pursue international projects. He plans to shoot his next film, reportedly titled "The Fountains of Paradise" and inspired by writer Arthur C. Clarke's life, in Sri Lanka, with Swinton starring once again. "It's going to be focused on Sigiriya, this mountain rock in Sri Lanka," he revealed. "That's a big fascination for me. In 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind,' Richard Dreyfuss was really attracted to this mountain. It's the same for me." Swinton has indeed become such a significant collaborator that she also features in another new installation opening in Amsterdam next month. Describing their creative partnership, Weerasethakul said, "Because of her playfulness, it's almost like she's water or something I can sculpt and play together."