Can generosity be a reciprocal practice?
Artist interview with Kate Murdoch (part three, continued from yesterday)
Kate Murdoch is a London based artist whose work reflects a fascination with the passage of time and the contrast between the permanence of objects and the fragility of human existence.
Her participatory project 10×10 was originally created in response to a call for art around the theme of trade and currency for the tenth anniversary of Deptford X in 2008, and has since been recreated for Lewisham College, Herne Bay Museum & Gallery Whitstable 2010 Biennale Satelite Programme and more recently, for Coastal Currents in Hastings.
10 x 10 is an everchanging display of 100 objects. Wherever it goes, people are asked to take one item and leave something in its place.
The only rules are:
• One swap per person
• The item must fit in the display space (14.5cm x 14.5cm)
10 x 10 asks:
What is an object worth to you?
How much do you want it and what are you prepared to give in return?
JM: Since doing the project has this widened your interest in gift exchanges/alternative economies eg Lets schemes, Timebanks, barter schemes etc?
KM: To be honest, while I’m vaguely aware of them I haven’t done any real research into them, though as I’ve said, I was a great supporter of the green dollar scheme in Ithaca, New York. Time permitting, I’d like to find out more about other barter schemes. I’m a great believer in strengthening communities and saw first hand in Ithaca how committed people became to living a life that wasn’t necessarily dominated by money. People reviewed the ways they lived their lives, lived less selfishly and the division between the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ lessened.
JM: What have you learned about generosity through doing the project? Your own and that of others.
KM:That people on the whole, unless they’re severely emotionally damaged, have an innate spirit of generosity. That’s something to be celebrated as far as I’m concerned, especially in these recent times of the media representing everything as being doom and gloom. If 10×10 represents an accurate ‘comment on humanity’ as my friend described it, then I would say that humanity has come out of it pretty well. In terms of my own generosity, I’ve been so pleased by the way 10×0 has moved on over the past five years, so moved by some of the stories people have been prepared to share and so grateful to those that have participated that I feel totally committed to the project. My own generosity I feel lies in my commitment to the project and taking the time to record and document each exchange event is my way of expressing my gratitude to those who have taken part. I’m not able to mention every single exchange but I’m grateful to all the 10×10 participants. It’s the audience after all, who essentially move the project on and make it work.
Many thanks to Kate for taking the time to answer my questions and contribute to my research. I ‘met’ Kate virtually, here on a-n and found out about 10×10 via her blog, ‘Keeping it Going’ which can be found at www.a-n.co.uk/p/2295372/
To find out more about 10×10, visit Kate’s website at http://www.katemurdochartist.com/ten_by_ten.html
This interview is published in full in Issue 1 of my new zine series ‘Reciprocity’ which documents, alongside with this blog, my research findings into ideas of generosity, sincerity and gift. For more information and to purchase the zine for £3 plus postage, visit http://jeanmcewan.com/2012/11/05/reciprocity-1/
