Afro-Asian Technopolitics : Three Generations of Praxis

This poster presents three bodies of work carried out in resistance to techno-capitalist bio/ecocide, by three generations of Afro-Asian individuals. This tripartite piece will communicate the analyses, methodologies, and collective labour, formed through their Afro-Asian and transnational feminist positionalities. It will contain text and visual materials, including art and archival photography. 

Margo Okazawa-Rey, b. 1940s - a radical African-American and Japanese scholar and activist on issues of militarisation, globalisation, and transnational feminism.  From South Korea to Sierra Leone, in the face of techno-military-industrial complexes, Margo collectively theorises and actions “genuine security” - moving beyond state-based ideas of national security, to create a culture of life. 

Rujunko Pugh, b. 1970s - an African-American and Japanese molecular biologist turned critical artist. Inspired by Stuart Hall and remix culture, Rujunko developed “Afro-Asian code”, a calligraphic digital font. An Afro-Asian alphabet, each character inspired by Japanese calligraphy, tightly curled Afro hair, and protein structures. An Afro-Asian language that decenters Western thinking and enters a third space of possibility.

Marie-Therese Png, b. 1990s - a St Lucian and Singaporean transnational coalition builder and research activist whose work extends from the DRC to Taiwan. Her background in evolutionary biology shapes her present work in AI industry accountability, as an investigative researcher apprehending AI infrastructure’s demands on raw material supply chains and natural resources. 

This poster, an Afro-Asian diasporic dialogue, spanning across generations, the biomolecular to the macro-geopolitical, articulates a response to the question: What political-epistemic dedications arise from Afro-Asian positionalities, in response to ongoing techno-imperialist bio/ecocide? 

Poster presentation co-authored with: Rujunko Pugh, Galería Xplora