In the Chinese myth, “The Conch Girl,” a conch turns into a goddess who takes on a secret nurturing role. It is a name that bears the cruel tradition of marking domestic work as women’s virtue. In The Conch Girl Project, Sidian intends to reclaim this name and highlight the reciprocal relationship it takes to perform radical care.

Dealing with feelings of displacement after immigration, Sidian asks strangers to let her use their kitchens in solitude. In return, she cooks them a meal and takes photos to document the experience. In this process, reciprocal care takes place: she gets entrusted with a private space that she can feel at home in, while the kitchen owner receives an act of service. The resulting photos are shown to the kitchen owners first, who give their responses and make editing advice. The correspondences from each kitchen owner and the photos taken within the kitchen are made into poster-size prints, as both a publication and as an open call for future participation. They are then wheatpasted and displayed on construction boards on the streets of New York City.