The 'Under Construction' project is jointly curated by nine curators from seven Asian countries — China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, and Thailand. It involves discussion and research around the theme 'What is Asia?' as the curators attempt to capture the multiple dimensions of Asian contemporary art through their dialogues with artists. The project began in 2001 with the curators organising local exhibitions in their countries to examine the theme from their own perspectives. It culminated in a collective exhibition in Tokyo from December 2002 to March 2003 that brought together the 43 artists/groups who first exhibited in the local exhibitions, reorganised through the collaborative efforts of the participating countries, to confront the issue of 'What is Asia?' and to assert the present conditions of Asia from within.

With essays by the curators. Images of work are accompanied by short descriptions. Artists' biographies and bibliographies, project structure and process, and local exhibition outline are included in the appendix.