According to the IRS glossary, A “Non-resident Alien” is an individual who is not a U.S. citizen and has not passed the green card test or the substantial presence test. “Alien” can mean someone from a foreign country, but it can also mean extraterrestrial life. My experience of coming to the U.S. as a foreigner sometimes makes me feel like I am from another planet–like I am an actual “alien.” So, in my thesis project, I use the metaphor of an alien from Pluto going on a mission to Earth to describe my own experience of coming to the US as an international student. The main character, the Alien, is a commissioner for Project Gaea, a project that brings Pluto people to Earth. During her mission, she faced many challenges, including being suffered from an antenna injury, being kidnapped by humans, and being unable to return home to be with her grandmother when she died. The installation itself is a fake exhibition set up by the agents who kidnapped the alien to show their progress in discovering evidence of aliens on Earth. Despite the fact that it is a fake setting, I want the viewers to believe what they see is real, so I painted a mural, built an acrylic box, made a character profile, a comic, two zines, and product designs like buttons and flyers, as the evidence of aliens on earth, to make this story seem more realistic even if it is fictional. The main character is a representation of myself or a spokesperson for me. All the stories in those comics and zines were based on real events that happened to me. She speaks about all the controversial ideas that I do not want to tell. She lets people look at her story so I do not need to show people mine. I wanted to document my feelings of isolation and loneliness as an international student, and hope people who come to the U.S. from other countries, to resonate with this work, to, maybe, find it comforting reading it, and know that they are not alone. Instagram: weiwei_huahua Categories MFA Thesis 2024 Tags MCAD MFA MCAD MFA 2024 MFA MFA Thesis 2024