Marking the centennial anniversary of Franz Kafka’s death and a decade of biennially-curated international performance festivals by founder Jitti Chompee, the Unfolding Kafka Festival 2024 will present Mo[ram]lam Fashion Show, an interdisciplinary, collaborative performance where Molam (a genre of Northeastern Thai folk music),
fashion design and contemporary dance meet. Organized in partnership with the Jim Thompson Art Center, the Bachelor’s Degree of Fine and Applied Arts (Performance Practice) at the Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts, Khon Kaen University and the College of Music, Mahasarakham University, the Mo[ram]lam Fashion Show mobilizes a multicultural cast of outstanding Thai musicians and performance artists. Acoompanied by a live Molam music ensemble, models will animate Jim Thompson’s vintage clothes through stylized movement and choreography.

Sombat Simla, the kaen master

Mo[ram]lam’s thematic anchors and minimalist sound design for this special catwalk draws inspiration from Pleng Malaeng Pu Tom Dok (a song in Molam repertoire that imitates the sound of the tropical carpenter bee) to match with the insect and floral print of Jim Thompson clothes; a tune known as “chasing cows up the mountain” will be paired with animal print designs. Jitti’s interest in Molam, a multivalent folk music tradition that has been embedded in the social and cultural fabric of Northeastern Thailand (Isaan) for centuries, is rooted in the genre’s constant reinvention through assimilation of external cultural and musical influences. He digs into sound design cast from the natural environment and the improvisatory performance tradition of Molam, as well as the induced state of trance in lam pifah, a shamanistic healing ritual, and the mimicry of animal sounds and sermonizing of Buddhist monks in lam puen. These dimensions of Molam thematically resonate with Jitti Chompee’s embodiment of animalistic physicalities and trance-like repetitions of movement, which are innovatively reprised on this special occasion of the Jim Thompson fashion show.

Date and Time: 01 Nov at 20:30
Venue: Jim Thompson Art CenterTickets: only festival pass & invitation