RepresentAsian / DisOrientations: the ambivalence of "ESEA" as a political formation and its deployment in visual art

This essay explores the political formation of "ESEA" (East and South East Asian) within the current context of racial discourse in Britain, and what that means for contemporary visual art self-defined as being by ESEA artists for ESEA communities. We begin with establishing the context of "race", the issues surrounding "ESEA" and its mobilization as a socio-political identity in the creative industries. The work of the Have You Eaten Yet? Collective will be introduced and discussed with reference to "ESEA" as a political identity, as well as contextualising these works within the broader scope of decolonial art with comparative examples.