Glenys Hodgeman
Gift wrapped
8 - 24 February, 2007 

Gift Wrapped focuses on the act of gift-giving – In particular one of the most precious things we can wrap up and offer to another individual - ‘ourselves’.  The work, while explicit, aims to show a playfulness and daring - ‘we all take a chance every time we give’ yet when we desire another –we are eager to join in and risk any heartache. The gift ribbon and gift card are embellishments, they are the first thing we open up and unravel when we receive a gift, yet, it is there vulnerability and transience that expresses so much about how we really feel about each other and ourselves.

In his pioneering anthropological study of archaic societies titled ‘Essai Sur Le Don’ Marcel Mauss outlined a universality attached to gift giving. The seemingly disinterested act of the gift exchange between various communities was noted as a complex ritual and a primal phenomenon of sociality. He utilised the ceremony of ‘potlatch’ and outlined three fundamental components to this social gift exchange – to give, to receive, and to reciprocate. He noted that whilst these three components seemed disinterested, in reality, they were very much obligatory - The material offerings, the ceremonial handing over, the verification of thankfulness all framed a social exchange by which both private relations and political expression are signified. The gift exchange was not merely a solitary act but according to Mauss triggered mechanisms for the initiation and consolidation of social relationships in lasting cycles of give-and-take. He also claimed that the significant aspect of the exchange of presents involved the establishment of social ties that bind individuals together above and beyond any material value of the objects exchanged - he believed that the gift exchange constituted a social fabric.

My art practice has unfolded directly out from my previous experience as an organ transplant coordinator. During my dealings within organ donation – often denoted as the ‘gift of life’ I became interested in the broader notion of gift giving in social practice, especially the relationships created and the meanings associated within the act of ‘giving’ and ‘receiving’ gifts. My initial research mixed with my work experience revealed that a gift is not as commonly thought – a gratuitous legacy, but instead, a very complex system of shared obligations and an essential element of social bonding.

The ubiquitous nature of gift giving across all cultures inspires my art. I am intrigued by the ideas of selfishness and sacrifice that operate within the world of gift giving and particularly issues relating to our motivation and need for affection, which place the act of gift giving and receiving as an indicator of social relations.  By choosing an object to become ‘gift’ and by the act of giving we transform objects to objectifications of self, permitting the gift to function as relationship signifiers, tangible feelings, judgments and memories. This is particularly relevant to society, as we start to uncover a Pandora’s Box of motivations and attachments that inspire individuals, communities and governments to engage in the gift exchange.