Kialy Tihngang

Kialy’s piece ‘Useless Machines’, showcasing a collection of interlocking laser cut wooden gadgets wrapped in waste fabrics, is a response to the neo-colonialist practice of electronic waste dumping often seen with affluent countries in the global north dumping electronic waste – old phones and laptops etc. – in poorer global south countries with little infrastructure to process it.

“As a British-born Cameroonian, my own contribution to the electronic waste crisis which primarily affects countries of colour, causes internal conflict. I use my art to investigate this. The inequality present in this climate colonialism inspired Useless Machines. It creates a dialogue about the issue in a tongue-in-cheek, intriguing way.” Kialy unpicks themes of personal identity from race to sexuality from ambiguous and absurd angles, reimagining old histories and speculating on new ones. Retrofuturism, obsolete technologies, and anachronistic advertisements inform her practice, which incorporates textiles, costume, animation and moving image.