The Critical Dictionary of Southeast Asia is part of an ongoing project that generates critical insight into the pluralistic definitions of ‘Southeast Asia’. Born out of recognition of how sweeping this term is, the work is a reflection on what makes up an area not unified by language, religion, or political power. At the heart of the work is an algorithm that weaves together a tapestry of texts, music, and found footage. These artefacts are linked to an alphabetised list of concepts and the algorithm generates different permutations with every loop. The stream of algorithmically edited images is accompanied by the voiceover of Singaporean vocalist Bani Haykal who explains keywords of particular significance in the Southeast Asian context: anarchism, buffalo, corruption, decay, epidemics, forest, gong, humidity, etc.