Episode Six

photo by Scott Shaw

Jai Arun Ravine talks to me about their newest book, The Romance of Siam, just released from Timeless, Infinite Light. We talk about their use of humor in critiquing orientalism, the tourist industry in Thailand, and their process as an interdisciplinary artist. 

I have no idea what Jim Thompson's "jungle box" looked like, but maybe it was something like this

The sound of waves breaking is a section of the (incredibly long) "Once in a Lifetime" theme song for Thailand's tourism campaign. 

Transcripts by Amir Rabiyah: https://www.scribd.com/document/378843274/Interview-with-Jai-Arun-Ravine

External materials mentioned in this episode:

• Jai’s website
• Go buy The Romance of Siam
• Jai’s performance piece from 2010, “TOMBOIGATOEYMANGO”
• Once in a Lifetime Commercial
• Ambient Asian Space
• Jo Ann Wasserman’s book of sestinas: The Escape
• Gabriel Ojeda-Sague & Jai Arun Ravine in conversation
• Gabriel’s book Oil and Candle
• Jim Thompson: the Unsolved Mystery
• Information about W. Somerset Maugham in Thailand