VT25001-002

In this collaborative print, Rirkrit Tiravanija and Danh Vo reflect on questions of belonging and otherness through personal histories and collective narratives. The work is based on a 1968 photograph from Tiravanija’s family album, taken by his father, showing the young artist wearing pointed prosthetic ears that evoke Mr. Spock from Star Trek. As the only alien aboard the Starship, Spock’s dual heritage and sense of otherness resonate with broader themes of identity and belonging. Vo intervenes with a walnut wood frame and engraved glass bearing one of two inscriptions, both calligraphed by his father, Phung Vo: “Tout ce qui t’empêche de partir, tout cela est ton ennemi” (“All that prevents you from leaving, all that is your enemy”) or “In Aliens We Trust,” a play on the official U.S. motto. Together, image and frame transform a photograph of childhood alienness into a site of shared authorship and interconnected narratives.