Relic 3 is part of Achiampong’s ongoing project – Relic Traveller: Phase 2 – a multi-disciplinary multi-site piece that builds on themes of lost testimony, fallen empire, and displacement by deconstructing the architectures of colonialism. The work considers the current socio-political climate, contrasting a rise of nationalism in the West and tensions around Brexit to the African Union’s passport programme, which aims to open borders across a unified Africa. The project imagines a future in which the West declines and the African Union becomes prosperous, harmonious, and responsible for shaping the planet’s future. Relic 3 picks up from Relic 2, detailing a migrant worker’s struggles as they try to live in a hostile, alien environment.

Larry Achiampong - Examining his communal and personal heritage, particularly the intersection between pop culture and the postcolonial position, Achiampong crate-digs the vaults of history. His work examines constructions of ‘the self’ by splicing audible and visual materials of personal and interpersonal archives, offering multiple perspectives that reveal entrenched socio-political contradictions in contemporary society.