A-139547204

An alien registration number—often shortened to “A-number”—is a unique identification number assigned by the U.S. government to a noncitizen navigating immigration processes; in simple terms, a way for a system to track a person. This number functions as both a bureaucratic marker and a charged designation, situating a person in relation to belonging—and to its absence. Here, to be called an “alien” is, at its most basic, to be named as other. The term, widely associated with the extraterrestrial, has long been used in legal frameworks to describe noncitizens. In that overlap, a quiet but consequential shift occurs: a word that suggests distance comes to define the human, and what begins as classification extends into perception, shaping how one is seen, and at times, how one understands oneself.

Grounded in this, A-139547204 opens into a broader consideration of alienation—not only as a condition tied to migration, but as an experience that moves across bodies, histories, and structures of power. The artists gathered here approach this terrain from within, at times engaging directly with the figure of the alien, and at others working through subtle dissonances within familiar forms—gestures, textures, and fragments that suggest otherness and estrangement.

By centering the alien registration number, the exhibition draws a direct line between a specific administrative term and a much wider emotional and social condition. In questioning what it means to be called an “alien,” it opens a space to reflect on the many ways alienation is produced, experienced, and, at times, reclaimed.

Presenting works by: Gail Shaw Clemons, Chris Cortez, Delphine Diallo, Rodney Ewing, Amir H Fallah, Leah Ying Lin, Chelsea Odufu, Kwaku Owusu Achim, Kamau Amu Patton and Annu Yadav.