12 November 2021

“The spacetime in Delfina is mysterious. Time evaporates much faster here than elsewhere, as Hong Kong filmmaker Stephen Chow once said, “it is cheerful time that flies particularly rapidly”. I can hardly believe that one-and-a-half months has already passed since I arrived. I am amazed by my co-residents and participants in the Collecting as Practice programme. The conversations and encounters at Delfina reshape my thinking every day.”

“The book Transmoderne by Christian Kravagna has travelled with me to many places. Not only because I am a super slow reader, but also as the central ideas of this book, “exchange” and “sharing”, have always stimulated my thinking while travelling. Luckily one of my co-residents Rado Ištok happened to be doing research with Christian Kravagna, therefore we were able to share many discussions during the residency. I received The Brutish Museums as a gift from Sammi Liu, who is running an art space plus a bookstore with her partner in London. She introduced me to radical thinking of the author Dan Hicks, which has become an important reference for my research into the decolonisation of museums. I have to thank Zoe Diao, another of the residents here and also a fellow at Whitechapel Gallery, who recommended to me Atlas of Anomalous AI and DOCUMENTARY. Both contain many relevant texts for my study of the image, which will probably take me some time to digest.”

The Currency is a vinyl project on colonial currencies and the future of the global economic system and neocolonialism created by the musician Elom 20ce, the artist Gregor Kasper, and me. We began our musical experiment with an invitation from London-based curator Yung Ma to exhibit at the Central Pompidou. Afterwards, with the help of the Berlin-based curator Ariane Beyn and Times Art Center, we finally completed the physical record. I wanted to share the final result with Yung, but the cost of postage became extremely expensive during the pandemic, so I have brought the vinyl with me to London now, and look forward to finally showing our friend this beautiful work in person.”

“This Laika commemorative coin from the Science Museum happened to be my first collection since I came to Delfina. I chose to acquire this adorable item not only because I am a dog person myself, but also because it reminded me of my favourite cryptocurrency, Dogecoin. Dogecoin is the first cryptocurrency – and the only so-called “meme coin” – I have collected in my digital wallet. It marks the beginning of my long journey researching blockchain technology. Although this Laika coin is not directly linked to the crypto world, it will still serve as a reference for my ongoing endeavour to design my own commemorative coin related to the Global South’s cooperation around the space industry.”

Musquiqui Chihying (Taiwan/Germany) is an artist-in-residence during Delfina Foundation’s autumn 2021 season, Collecting as Practice. His residency is supported by the Ministry of Culture, Taiwan (ROC) with additional support from Delfina Foundation’s Network of Asia-Pacific Patrons.

Photos artist’s own.