Robert Machiri

Born in Zimbabwe/South Africa in 1978.

Robert »Chi« Machiri lives in Johannesburg/South Africa. He is a DJ and hoarder of things, inspired by his music collection and interest in sound-related objects. His work exists at the interface of two streams of practice; his curatorial concepts and a multidisciplinary production of artworks that draw on decolonial discourses that are presented through embodied critique, learning and unlearning, interweaving sound, music and image-making.

His most notable project, PUNGWE, is an interdisciplinary project circling African soundings with related contemporary arts discourses and spaces. PUNGWE has produced collaborative works: Pungwe Nights, Sugar free///Pungwe and, in cooperation with Memory Biwa, Listening at Pungwe. His current work is presented through a dialectic between object and subject, with intermedial experiences of sound and image.

Biwa and Machiri are recipients of the 2021 DAAD Artists-in-Berlin program.

Robert Machiri is a fellow at Akademie Schloss Solitude, in cooperation with Donaueschinger Musiktage 2021 as part of the project Donaueschingen Global.