The hand carries the gift and offers it. 
Fitting in the palm of the hand - the ultimate container - becomes the measure unity for the pieces presented in the small exhibition space. Carefully chosen, all wrapped in colorful paper and embellished with big shiny bows, gifts are a manifestation of the social relations we establish with each other. We gift for love, friendship, politeness or political reasons. For grief, life and celebration. 

Giving, or gifting something to someone is a practice that exists since the beginning of human civilization, or that even predates it, story tells. It is believed that when we where still living in caves, this gesture was used among each other. From unusual shaped rocks to animal teeth, gifts were given as a sign of appreciation and used to strengthen social connections. Then gifts changed and adapted with time, reflecting the socio-political, cultural and economical, as well as material and emotional dimensions of their context. Sometimes easy, other times difficult to choose, gifts reaffirm our connection to others. Small or big, they defy the idea of value and worth.

Books, socks, flowers, rings, rings, rings. Small packages, big love. - exhibition text by Francisca Patrocínio


a chama que quase apaga com o sopro do ar, 2023 
Hand molded wax-candle

GIFT, Toni-Areal, Zurich, co-curated with Anne-Sophie Knobloch
featured in Rundgang.io