Highlights includes showcase, talks, and guided tour. Free admission and all are welcome, register here!
As the two artists conclude their residencies in London and Hong Kong respectively, we invite you to this special evening with the artists exploring the works and ideas developed during the two-month exchange.
‘Recently my research has focused on animal imperialism and architecture of violence. I spent a lot of time in the museums, zoos, and prison museums.’ — Vvzela Kook
‘Thinking through some of the extractive methodologies of this time as well as how this follows the same trajectory out of the movements and displacement of people throughout the empire.’ — Shiraz Bayjoo
Drawing on their existing works and materials gathered during their residencies, Kook and Bayjoo will engage in a dialogue about how their ecological research into colonial circulation intersects across multiple geographies, and how these connect to their own family and cultural experiences.
Supported by the Cheng-Lan Foundation in collaboration with Delfina Foundation.
About the artists
Vvzela Kook (Hong Kong) is a new media artist working across computer graphics, drawing, performance, and theatre. Her practice investigates the architectural and human narratives embedded within complex systems – with a sustained fascination for the by‑products and outcasts of modernity. For her residency at Delfina, Kook will develop a transdisciplinary project tracing the transoceanic movement of ‘exotic animals’ following European maritime expansion. The research examines how these animals functioned as cultural symbols and diplomatic instruments; how their display was intertwined with the rise of modern zoos, prisons, museums, and botanical gardens; and how these histories relate to Indigenous philosophies of interspecies coexistence.
Shiraz Bayjoo (UK) is a contemporary multidisciplinary artist working with film, painting, photography, performance, and installation. Originally from Mauritius, his research‑based practice focuses on personal and public archives, addressing cultural memory and postcolonial nationhood in the Indian Ocean region. His current research explores the intersection of colonial extraction and ecological erasure within enslaved and plantation landscapes. Bayjoo has worked with Indigenous groups in Australia and the US, observing narratives of ecological reparation and personal healing, positioning land and ecological activism as central methodologies within decolonial discourse.
Support
Cheng-Lan Foundation is a Hong Kong based arts organisation, dedicated to supporting artists from the global majority and diaspora communities. Through collecting, exhibitions, commissions and institutional partnerships, the foundation works to amplify artistic practices that expand and reimagine the global story. Operating as a collaborative platform, the Foundation supports artists, emerging curators, writers, and practitioners, offering opportunities to develop ideas through institutional collaborations and resource sharing. Its activities range from commissioning work and facilitating artist research trips to supporting new institutional projects, guided by the long–term commitment to amplify marginalised voices, foster critical cultural dialogue, and build a collection that will serve as a publicly accessible resource for future generations.
Collaborator
Founded in 2007, Delfina Foundation is the UK’s largest international residency programme, hosting artists and creative practitioners from around the world. From our home in central London, we provide essential space and support for experimentation, research, and development; facilitate vital networks and dialogue across the art world and society; present new artists, art, and ideas to local and global audiences; and nurture long-standing global communities of artists and creative practitioners. Delfina’s residency programme is structured around the four seasons of the year. Each season we bring a cohort of around 8–12 international artists together for residencies of between 6
and 12 weeks. Throughout each season we support peer–to–peer conversations between participants through programmed activities, as well as providing an encouraging environment for informal exchange to take place.
