Con todo mi afecto is a video, photo and web project completed over a duration of a four months that involves the participation of the local community in Mexico. For the time of an art residency, I am making myself available to create works of art in exchange and in response to an object that people will give me. These objects must have particular sentimental value to the original owners. In return to each of these items, I will create an original work of art, which will be numbered, signed and given back to the owner of the object it echoes. Each work will thus be created especially for each person, trying to match the sentimental value of the given object.

Trading, exchanging, sharing and, among all, swapping are the principles that motivate the project. A swap is defined by an exchange between two parties for an object or a service of equal value and by which no exchange of money is necessary. In the project, I am hoping that the people who will participate in the project will feel that they get a fair and even trade at the closure of each exchange. On my part, the objects that will be given to me will help me to get in touch with local people, to discover personal stories, to understand their sensitivity and, in more general terms, to open an intimate window on the Mexican culture. In this project, I attempt to step outside our usual currency based economic system in replacing it with an affective one.

In addition to the actual exchange, the process of publicizing the project, collecting objects and meeting with people will be documented and published on the project’s website. The website will function as a kind of virtual travelogue and will be available online to anyone who wishes to follow the development of the project. The objects and documentation accumulated will then be used for exhibition and/or publication purposes.

Con todo mi afecto is an utopian project that attempts to create a small world where the sole worth of objects is based on their moral or sentimental value. Con todo mi afecto will create a breach, a brief moment outside of our time, where it is possible to envision a society that functions differently.