Thresholds of Becoming
2026 21st February - 17th May
esea contemporary
13 Thomas St, Manchester, M4 1EU, United Kingdom
esea contemporary marks its 40th anniversary in 2026 with 'Thresholds of Becoming', a new group exhibition bringing together six artists whose practices probe the architectures of transition and the fragile ecologies of the in-between: Nicole Coson, Xin Liu, Charmaine Poh, Minoru Nomata, Yang Yongliang, and Yin Aiwen.
'Thresholds of Becoming’, 2026, installation view. Curated by Xiaowen Zhu. Photograph by David Lindsay, courtesy of esea contemporary.
Curated by esea contemporary Director, Xiaowen Zhu, the exhibition understands transformation as a restless process of reconfiguration — of meaning, of material, of the bonds that hold us together and the fractures that pull us apart. The exhibition positions mutation and instability not as failures, but as generative states through which new worlds might be glimpsed.
Drawing on Vietnamese theorist Trinh T. Minh-ha’s writing on passage and in betweenness — that to move across is also to move within — the exhibition dwells in these thresholds — tidal, digital, speculative, terrestrial — tracing the fragile grounds on which we live. Here, transition becomes a lived condition: a turbulence in which forms reorganise, histories unsettle, and futures flicker into view.
'Thresholds of Becoming’, 2026, installation view. Curated by Xiaowen Zhu. Photograph by David Lindsay, courtesy of esea contemporary.
Taken together, the works in 'Thresholds of Becoming' frame transformation as a condition both intimate and planetary — enacted through bodies, materials, infrastructures, and imagined futures. Each artist offers a distinct vocabulary for navigating the unstable architectures of the present, where collapse and renewal coexist. Collectively, the exhibition asks: What becomes possible when transformation is approached not as crisis but as a structural condition of the present? How might emergent relations, infrastructures, and imaginaries assemble themselves within — and because of — the unstable terrains we inhabit?
'Thresholds of Becoming’, 2026, installation view. Curated by Xiaowen Zhu. Photograph by David Lindsay, courtesy of esea contemporary.
The exhibition has received generous support from Octone Art Foundation, Arts Council England, Greater Manchester Combined Authority, University of Salford Art Collection, Public Gallery, White Cube, Silverlens, Palais Populaire, Bryan and Dinggay Villanueva, and all participating artists.
About esea contemporary
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.