There is a lot to be confused about..  implications of fast evolving technologies and the potential changes robotics and artificial intelligence can make in daily life; ethical conundrums, especially regarding food and horticulture; and how best to incorporate transhumanist and nonhuman perspectives into dominant ideologies. What connects them in Chin’s work is the common thread of the trials and tribulations of animated objects – from mischievous haunted appliances, chaotic future technologies to fictional robotic devices.

Depictions of kitchen equipment that have sprouted arms and legs, are both a nod to smart devices – connected to the Internet so as to be able to monitor and make certain decisions – and Tsukumogami, a tale in Japanese folklore where once inanimate household objects gain sentience after 100 years of service. Badly handled objects foster vengeful spirits, determined to wreak havoc on their careless owners, while properly maintained items harbour friendly, mild-mannered dispositions.

Two newly produced works, Your Chair’s Letting Off Steam     (2020)    &    A Couple of Haunted Backwash Units    (2020)    seem to suggest the very being of DKUK is coming to life. As if, once the hairstylists go home, the scissors, styling products and cutting chairs could run amok…

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