Homecoming

Hard Times on Narrow Street

Chris Zhongtian Yuan is a London-based artist whose project stems from a personal encounter with Dr. Chloe Lee’s research at the National Archives, which uncovered the little-known presence of Chinese migrants aboard the Empire Windrush in 1948. Lingering as a faint memory for two years, Yuan's project seeks to explore the kind of music that might have been playing aboard the Windrush. Collaborating with long-term partners, including trumpeter Kevin G. Davy and vocalist Cath Johnson, the project is a work-in-progress compositional framework. It employs improvisation techniques and a modular structure to weave together archival materials, live fictions, loneliness, and pleasure.

That dark, sugary sea

The exhibition features a new iteration of ‘Three Contemporary Prosperities’, which reimagines the traditional Chinese deities Fú 福, Lù 祿, Shòu 壽 – celestial embodiments of Fortune, Prosperity, and Longevity – as hyper-contemporary figures: The Brilliant Billionaire, The Perfect Celebrity, and The Immortal Elder. Presented in the Communal Project Space, this woven work evolves with each display – a millionaire becomes a billionaire, an influencer becomes a celebrity – prompting reflections on how the age-old aspirations of a ‘good life’ are shaped by shifting societal desires.

Together, these works chart quiet currents that carry threads of longing and resilience across oceans and generations, navigating the turning tides between departure and return, loss and reinvention. Anchored in textile and sculptural language, the exhibition considers how cultural memory and moral frameworks endure – or unravel – across shifting geographies.

‘Three Contemporary Prosperities’

Smooth Sailing, 一路順風, 'Spirit of Labour’

Smooth Sailing, 一路順風, 'Abandonment'

Smooth Sailing, 一路順風, ‘Love, Labour, Loneliness’

Smooth Sailing, 一路順風, 'Hope and Fear'

esea contemporary is the UK’s only non-profit art centre specialising in presenting and platforming artists and art practices that identify with and are informed by East and Southeast Asian (ESEA) cultural backgrounds.

esea contemporary is situated in an award-winning building in the heart of Manchester, home to one of the largest East Asian populations in the UK. Since its inauguration as a community-oriented visual arts festival in 1986, esea contemporary – previously named Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art – has continuously evolved to establish itself as a dynamic and engaging space for cross-cultural exchanges in the British art scene, as well as in a global context. 

esea contemporary aims to increase the visibility of contemporary art practices from the East and Southeast Asian communities and their diasporas. It is a site for forward-thinking art programmes that beyond exhibitions also include commissions, research, residencies, publishing, and a wide range of vibrant public events. esea contemporary values creativity, compassion, interconnectedness, and collectivity in implementing its mission.

Smooth Sailing, 一路順風, 'Abandonment'

esea contemporary

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