GLASSOFWATERFORACELLO

Reflecting on the anthropological concept of the gift —exchange of objects of symbolic rather than economic value—a large construction occupies the exhibition space, set to a short-film entitled COPOD’ÁGUAPORVIOLONCELO [GLASSOFWATERFORACELLO]. The whole installation literally hinges on this exchange, which takes place in three forms: sculpture, video, and a replica. In the accompanying film, a glass of water is exchanged for a cello (a girl makes the swap) as a sort of sacrifice. The sculpture consists of the skeleton of a boat’s bow and port-side gunwale with a cello balancing on one end and a glass of water on the other. The work is structured as a scales of sorts with a central support for the beam.