This is an early sample for the Mirror

• Samples may have minor marks and may not have fully finished bottom/backsides.

• Size - 12.5" x 1 x 16.5"H

• This is a sample piece and hence does not have limited edition number engraved on the back.

• Samples are available for local pick up in Los Angeles

• Please allow 2-3 weeks for the piece to ship to you.

ABOUT MIRRORS FOR ALIENS

The steel thali, a quintessential Indian object, is reimagined as a sculptural mirror, reflecting on immigrant identity and cultural duality.

Acquired by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) Architecture + Design Permanent Collection. Limited to 100 numbered pieces.

Reflections on transient identity serve as the foundation for Mirrors for Aliens, steel thalis hand-polished to a mirror-like finish, forming reflective surfaces. Born and raised in India, now working in the USA on visas, our identity is one of impermanence - not American, not Indian-American, not even permanent residents. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services calls us Non-Resident Aliens.

The steel thali is ubiquitous in Indian households and restaurants, an unbreakable plate for all meals that embodies practicality, frugality, strength, and endurance. Amidst a green card application for “extraordinary aliens,” we took four of our steel thalis and slowly sanded their surfaces, scratched up from years of use. This ritual became a part of our days as we prepared the application, and gradually, our reflections started to emerge.

In Mirrors for Aliens, the thali acts as an iconic marker of Indian-ness, humble yet aspirational, and of our futures - simultaneously shiny and faint. The sculptural, mirrored steel offers slightly distorted, soft reflections, speaking to the blurred sense of identity and the emotional complexity of living between cultures and countries, home and work.