![Photography by Geoff Robertson. [Alt—text] Nitcha, a Southeast Asian woman(left), looks to the right. On the right, Kengchakaj(right), a Southeast Asian man with a mustache, looks to the left. They have a focus red stripe light shining on a partial of their faces; the rest of the faces are blurred and merged with the black background.](https://prod-files-secure.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/45d9ba65-e286-4c4b-8c56-020b0d9eaba1/43b5fd81-d033-43d3-911e-0e8d8a999358/DSC07438.jpg)
**https://www.elekhlekha.xyz/**
**@elekhlekha (@nitchafame & @kengchakaj)**
elekhlekha อีเหละเขละขละ is a collaborative research-based group consisting of Bangkok-born, Brooklyn-based artists, Kengchakaj Kengkarnka–เก่งฉกาจ (https://kengchakaj.info/) and Nitcha Tothong(fame)–ณิชชา(เฟม) (https://nitcha.info/) that examines, decoded, explore, and define decolonized possibilities by creating, using code, algorithm, multimedia, and technology. They are interested in subversive storytelling using non-dominance sound and visual archives, historical research–decoding and unlearning biases, performing documents, multimedia, and technology to experiment, explore, and define decolonized possibilities.
elekhlekha has performed and exhibited in small communities, larger institutional spaces, and music festivals, including Barbican Centre(UK); Smithsonian Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden(US); CultureHub(NY); Wonderfruit Festival (Thailand); Int-Act Festival 2022(Thailand); Wonderville NYC(as a part of LiveCode.NYC); Harvestworks(NY); Flux Factory(NY); Jamaica Center for the Arts & Learning(NY); The Jazz Gallery(NY); WSA(NY); Lume Studio(NY).
In 2022, they were awarded The Lumen Prize Gold Award—the first Gold Award winner to come out of the Global Majority category. In addition, the artists have received grants and development funds from Rhizome, the Processing Foundation, the Institute for Electronic Arts(iea), a City Artist Corps Grant, Queens Council on the Arts, and Babycastles for their projects. elekhlekha is former _____in-Residence at Babycastles, members of NEW INC Y10 Art & Code **track, 2023–2024 Artist-in-Residence at CultureHub and Eyebeam Democracy Machine Fellows 2024. elekhlekha is currently the NEW INC Y11 Extended Realities track members.
Tothong holds an MFA from the Parsons School of Design, and Kengkarnka holds an MM from the Manhattan School of Music. They’re currently based in Occupied Lenapehoking (Brooklyn, NYC), the unceded lands of the Lenni-Lenape and home for many Indigenous peoples past, present, and future.
Photography by Geoff Robertson. [Alt—text] Nitcha, a Southeast Asian woman(left), looks to the right. On the right, Kengchakaj(right), a Southeast Asian man with a mustache, looks to the left. They have a focus red stripe light shining on a partial of their faces; the rest of the faces are blurred and merged with the black background.
Photos from Cyberpunk Sundaze with Livecode NYC at Wonderville, Brooklyn, US, by S4y.