Having fought against the dehumanising military coup regime in Myanmar in 2021, Ma Ei was forced to leave the country in 2022 for Thailand before seeking refuge in Australia. Before the displacement, she worked as an artist and activist, using art and performance to gather people for protests that resisted killings, drawing local and international attention and doing everything she could to help pivot the situation.

Machine Residue intertwines the voices of diaspora artists living in Melbourne's west about war, loss and survival. It asks: what remains under the systemic violence, dehumanising regimes and their aftermath?