It's what's inside that counts
Can I offer you a handmade souvenir?
Just so you know, the gift you hold in your hand may contain another prize inside.
Just so you know, the gift you hold in your hand may contain another prize inside.
It's what's inside that counts is a performative and socially engaged work I executed on the Scottsdale Thursday night Artwalk. As part of the group show, Souvenir, I gifted 100 porcelain eggs to artwalkers that each had a line of text referring to interiors: "It's what's
inside that counts", "I contain multitudes", and "We are all alike on the inside". 99 eggs contained a clay pebble. 1 contained a diamond. No one knew which one, even I didn't. These gifts often resulted in conversations with their receivers where I remained intentionally vague. We spoke about the value of the object, the potential of the object, and their responsibility for the object.
Forcing the destruction of the object to reveal the truth inside it set up a situation where the viewer could choose the value of the object with their actions. I want to have the viewer connect with the idea that their chosen beliefs can redefine the value held inside other objects.
inside that counts", "I contain multitudes", and "We are all alike on the inside". 99 eggs contained a clay pebble. 1 contained a diamond. No one knew which one, even I didn't. These gifts often resulted in conversations with their receivers where I remained intentionally vague. We spoke about the value of the object, the potential of the object, and their responsibility for the object.
Forcing the destruction of the object to reveal the truth inside it set up a situation where the viewer could choose the value of the object with their actions. I want to have the viewer connect with the idea that their chosen beliefs can redefine the value held inside other objects.