elekhlekha (Nitcha Tothong–ณิชชา โตทอง & Kengchakaj–เก่งฉกาจ) is a Bangkok-born collaborative artist practice focusing on research that examines and decoded past histories by creating, using code, algorithm, multimedia, and technology to experiment, explore, and define decolonized possibilities. They are currently based in Lenapehoking (Brooklyn). elekhlekha has received support from Babycastles, Rhizome, Processing Foundation and etc. In 2022, they were awarded The Lumen Prize Gold Award for their debut project, Jitr (จิตร), a performative audio-visual that utilizes historical research, Southeast Asian sound cultures, and live coding tools to reconcile Southeast Asia's shared heritage.
“Our works aim to investigate and unfold layers of Southeast Asia’s political complexity through the continuity of oral & aural history and sound cultures’ lineage. The juxtaposition of ancestors’ knowledge and new aesthetic as algorithmic compositions reconfigured to a new context builds a new relationship, breaks the social expectation that sound cultures must be traditional, and finds possibilities derailing from consciousness.
Inspired by our struggle of unlearning and relearning–eliminating bias rendered by imperialism, classism, nationalism, patriarchy, and political layers of our history to reclaim agency, the long-lost innovation, reimagine the new process and mode of expression.”