Photo by Angela Hau

A dynamic mix of AAPI female-identified designers have been invited to participate in this important exhibition during NYCxDesign 2023 to both challenge and address the ideas of reflection through surface exploration, materiality, and self discovery. 

Early Bronze Age culture saw mirrors made of bronze in Southeast Asia, creating an assemblage of cultural and geographical reflecting points; later glass became a prime material used for mirrors at the start of the Han Dynasty. Mirrors have a history of being regarded as sacred objects having magical powers. They were used similarly as today but traded as tokens of affection, symbols of alliances between states, used in religious rituals, and as burial objects. Mirrors were and are powerful objects that could shift the energy in a room, a belief that continues to resonate in the practice of feng shui. Today, mirrors continue to have optical power as they play with our perceptions of body and space. A quick glance in the mirror reaffirms our sense of self and can often reflect one's anxiety, fears, self distortion, and dysmorphia. At times one can see a mirage rather than a 'mirror' of our reflection; a distorted reality. 

Photo by Angela Hau

Self reflection is a key part of what is needed to grow as a human, a creative, a community member. Seeing reflections of self within others is also critical to growth within one's career or craft; believing you can achieve what you see if only you can see it in yourself. Self reflection under the AAPI umbrella projects a blur asking the questions; how do I see myself; how do I see others; how do others see me? This charged concept of mirroring and reflection is of endless fascination, and especially for the AAPI community, who has struggled to be seen within the historically white-centric United States of America.

We created ‘Mirrors for Aliens’ for the exhibition reflecting on our Indian and immigrant identities.

We were born & raised in India and now work in the USA on visas. India is our home and America has been our platform. Our identity is one of impermanence, the highs of our creative endeavors juxtaposed against reminders of our outsider status - not American, not Indian-American, not even permanent residents. USCIS* calls us Non-Resident Aliens.

These reflections on transient identity serve as the foundation for our latest work, Mirrors for Aliens, steel thalis polished to a mirror-like finish, to form reflective surfaces. The steel thali is ubiquitous in Indian households and restaurants, an unbreakable plate for all meals that embodies practicality, frugality, strength, and endurance. In Mirrors for Aliens, the thali acts as an iconic marker of our Indian-ness, humble yet aspirational, and of our Indian futures - simultaneously shiny and faint. The mirrored steel offers slightly distorted, soft reflections that speak to our blurred sense of identity and the complex emotional landscape that comes with living between cultures, countries, home and work.

See press coverage of the exhibition in The New York Times, Surface Mag, Elle Decor, Sight Unseen, Whitewall, The Architect’s Newspaper, Sixty Six and Wallpaper*