Installation View, Given Time
It is an area of scholarship by many historians, including anthropologist Marcel Mauss, who suggests that giving is not a voluntary action between people but that the person receiving a gift is obligated - therefore emphasizing the importance of contractual act in returning a gift. The exhibition title pays homage to philosopher Jacques Derrida's book, Given Time 1: Counterfeit Money. It highlights the critical "interval" between the exchange of a gift and counter-gift, suggesting that the gift not only gives time but implies the moment within which it must be returned, making the gift, according to him, impossible. The reciprocity of the gift - its return or exchange, is annulling. This exhibition considers the impossibility of a gift devoid of reciprocity, return, or debt.