“I have been back, living in Vietnam for the last ten years, so I think that my understanding of contemporary Vietnam has reached a new level. Recently, I read about the Vietnamese government’s desire to establish an aviation industry, its encouragement of engineers to build planes, and discussion of the launch of a $270 million satellite (VINASAT).

There has been much discussion about this major satellite as well as other options such as smaller, cheaper, low-orbit satellites. I became fascinated by all this talk about things up in the sky. This was a recognizable shift in the country from one of survival and needing to feed people to rejoining the world through better communication.

I wanted to create a surreal, bright, shiny object. I wanted to bring the satellite to eye-level and allow people to physically experience it because most people don’t ever see satellites yet they use them every day of their lives.

The satellites are covered in mirror, which not only looks jewel-like but also has the effect of locating viewers within the installation through their image reflected back to them. I like mirrors because they both absorb and reflect, and that’s what satellites do, too, collect information while also sending it out. On some level I also wanted them to look beautiful, like objects of desire.

On the one hand, satellites bring with them unfiltered information, more television stations, and better telecommunications but on the other hand there is greater potential for surveillance.”