Watching the movement of a pen becoming a signature. Evenings filled with karaoke serenades. Hearing the whirr of a tape rewinding. These replayed memories are scenes in Nithikul Nimkulrat‘s show Remembered & Forgotten at Craft Ontario. The show is the first curated exhibition at their new space at 401 Richmond.
Installation view of Nithikul Nimkulrat, Remembered & Forgotten at Craft Ontario
Nimkulrat contemplates the reality of forgetting and the fragile relationship one holds with memory. This rumination grew because of witnessing her father experience Alzheimer’s disease and the way in which his memory and recognition were affected. Nimkulrat recreated objects associated with their relationship — a microphone, stationary, and a pen among others — as black and white paper creations, carefully crafted using knots. The first object I engaged with was a capped pen raised ever so slightly with a pin upon a plinth, The Scheaffer Fountain Pen, 2025. I thought about how often I use a pen; a daily necessity for notes, tasks I do not want to forget, thoughts I want to remember. Here the tool is created out of paper, crafted out of the very material it is intended to write on.
Nithikul Nimkulrat., The Scheaffer Fountain Pen, 2025, hand-knotted string, 6-1/2 x 5/8 x 7/8 inches
The knots used to recreate the objects are carried out with a precision that memory cannot attempt. The negative space and gaps symbolize the reality of remembering and forgetting. In The VHS, 2024, Nimkulrat uses the white paper string to recreate the labels and reel mechanism. The black plastic housing has also been recreated with knotted paper. Nimkulrat uses a variety of knots, some tied and coiled tightly to create bolded sections outlining the cassette, while the circle-diamond knots present a lighter feel, providing a contrasting depth for the tape.
Nithikul Nimkulrat, The VHS, 2024, hand-knotted paper string, 8 x 1-1/4 x 4 inches
As I considered the construction of these objects, I aimed to identify the kinds of knots used. I compared diagrams of mathematical knots with the objects in a feeble attempt to recognize the differences between the simple and trifoil knots. While I could not determine which were used, I came across the method of projecting knots onto a plane surface. The diagram reduces the knot to a shadow, a simpler version of itself in which the order of the strands is omitted. This made me consider the shadows created by the objects on surrounding surfaces and how the works are echoed in them.
Nimkulrat’s The Corded Microphone, 2025, is a good example as the shadow of the object cannot be ignored. The plug at the left edge is repeated in five shadows cast in different directions as the shadows project erratically along the wall. Whereas the microphone itself has shadows concentrated on the wall immediately below the object. It prompts one to reflect on how a voice can live on and resonate in one’s head.
Nithikul Nimkulrat., The Corded Microphone, 2025, hand-knotted paper string, 12 x 2-1/4 x 11 inches
Meanwhile, in the section housing The Video Camera, 2025, one can see the object and its shadow shift slowly, slightly, in a sweeping arc. The shadows of the camera appear like a fan of cards, drifting in darkness. This component of the installation plays into the notion that memories of one another can live on, as a shadow of oneself.
Nithikul Nimkulrat, The Video Camera, 2025, hand-knotted paper string, 14-1/2 x 9 x 8 inches
In this experience of remembering and forgetting, there is the underlying theme of grieving. Mourning the one you love as an ambiguous loss, witnessing a disease like Alzheimer’s progress and deprive you of the person you knew. In Nimkulrat’s reflection, there is also anticipatory grief, considering the artist’s own future loss of memory and sense of self. Nimkulrat’s The Letter in the Envelope, 2024, makes one consider the things left unsaid, the events and moments one wants to record. Like the camera, video tape, pen, and microphone, these tools underline the desire for remembering and keeping the memories instead of forgetting them.
Nithikul Nimkulrat. The Letter in the Envelope, 2024, hand-knotted paper string, 14 x 12 x 4 inches
Nimkulrat’s exhibition considers the fundamental aspect of human culture, one that is essential in fostering relationships, passing on traditions, and building skills required for survival. Memory is at the core of our functional existence, which makes the reality of forgetting distressing. Nimkulrat’s labour to remember through these objects with carefully crafted knots makes this gallery exhibition remarkable.
On that note, the new space at 401 Richmond holds many memories of the cultural sector in Toronto. The hub functions as a vessel for artistic production, tying together a variety of artists and workers in a larger network. Hopefully Craft Ontario’s Remembered & Forgotten will be one of many engaging exhibitions in this new space.
Text and photo: Rashana Youtzy
*Exhibition information: Nithikul Nimkulrat, Remembered & Forgotten, August 16 – September 28, 2025, Craft Ontario, 401 Richmond St. W. Unit 108, Toronto. Gallery hours: Tuesday – Saturday 11am – 6:30pm, Sunday 12-5pm.