‘Take Your Place: A Celebration of BESEA Identity’
Digital platform Asians in Britain is proud to launch ‘Take Your Place’, a BESEA community produced photoshoot, in support of the ‘Stop ESEA Hate’ iniative. Written content provided by Asians in Britain.
Alex Chang, Tiffany Law, Aki Nakawaga, Chip Nguyen, Justin Peng, Gianne Pinedra, Ray Roberts, Norbu Tsering Shakya, Alice Whittington, Sylvia Wong
Over twenty British East and South East Asians collaborated to produce a non-profit photoshoot in response to the escalation of racially motivated incidents against the ESEA community in the UK, aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic, titled ‘Take Your Place: A Celebration of BESEA Identity’.
Jacob Bedford, Jyreh Daniel Buenaventura, Enxi Chang, The Mollusc Dimension, Joe Thompson-Oubari, Joaquin Pedro Valdes, Princess Polyglot, Ray Roberts, Joy Tan, Alyssa Vongapai, Abbey Wong
The purpose of this shoot was to empower our community by humanising a group of people who are typically misrepresented or under-represented in mainstream media, and to encourage donations towards the ‘Stop ESEA Hate’ campaign (the UK arm of Stop Asian Hate in the US) championed by Go Fund Me, Gemma Chan, Zing Tsjeng, Susie Lau and Benedict Wong, among others. The shoot is being published on Instagram as a series spanning nearly a month via digital platform Asians In Britain, a established in 2018 with the aim of empowering BESEAs. It was important to co-producers Steph Fung (founder of Asians In Britain) and Chris Poon that each model’s reflection of their identity was told alongside the photos in the form of quotations.
Abbey Wong (@abbeywong1)
Photographed by Vanessa Ng and assisted by a fantastic team of make-up artists and a stylist, we saw BESEAs revel in their multiple heritages as British citizens or being based in the UK for work.
The models (all volunteers) represented a spectrum of stories and backgrounds that shatter any stereotype: ranging from members of the LGBTQ+ community, gender non-binary to cisgender, actors to accountants. As the shoot day progressed, it became increasingly clear that a community was being formed among the models and creative team.
Alex Chang (@alexobchang)
There was no talk of ‘fighting inequality’ or politics. Instead, the models and the team chose to exist as they are: a rich mixture of ethnicities, narratives and belonging; neither part of their identities diminished or amplified over the other. It is why the dress code was intentionally ‘non-Asian’, but a celebration of what made each individual feel empowered. It was a celebration of the traits, passions and differences that affirmed to each of us that the complexities and fractures of BESEA identity is something to be proud of, not a wedge to further divide and alienate.
Joe Thompson-Oubari (@joeto)
This project intends to lend its voice to the #StopESEAHate campaign by showing BESEAs are just as fallible and imperfect as any group in society. However, BESEAs are just as passionate and joyful, and above all, human. Without diminishing any other group in society, we are simply taking our place.
Enxi Chang (@miss_enxi)
Here is just a selection of photos from the series. You can find the full range on the Asians In Britain Instagram page, where they will be featuring a different model every day.
Jyreh Daniel Buenaventura (@batboy_jy)
Credits:
Vanessa Ng - Photographer
Jordan Cox - Assistant Photographer
Nana Andersen & Beatrice Birolo - Makeup Artists
Amna Saleem - Stylist
Steph Fung & Chris Poon - Producers
Tiffany Law (@tiflaw)
