Arin Rungjang has long been committed to a blurring of documentary and fictional practices in search of other pathways and expand perceptions of truth and history. Like many of his works, Remember (Ratanakiri), takes as a starting point an object in which personal and official narratives intersect; in this case, within the work of a hand-dyed and woven blanket by Vek Tounh, an indigenous Tampoeun weaver living in northeastern Cambodia. Vek’s story, as told to Arin, is extended in both audio – in Tampoeun language – and book form – in English and Khmer languages. Through the direct account of her life’s circumstances, we not only learn how weapon motifs entered part of her narrative weavings, but are given access to intimate versions of official histories.
