Rajni Shah: Across the Waters, a gift exchange

"The stools remind me of what I stand for. They remind me of what is important. And thus, they are a mixed presence in my life. They are a wonderful, powerful symbol, and they bring me together with other artists across the world. But they are also a reminder of how much there is to do, how we need effort and commitment to create this space in our world. I gave mine away, continuing the chain of giving, to artists and audiences at a London performance of mine. People loved them. I attached a long handwritten letter to them, hoping that people would write back (I asked them to). No-one wrote back. This was disappointing. But in a sense, it brought me back to one of the first things Jean-Marie wrote to me: Hello, The stools are only a symbolic offering, to you first, as an introduction to "The Future is on the Table".

So I must focus on the table, and let the stools have their own journey; in homes around the UK they are now a reminder to others, and they are sparking other conversations that I may never know about. The table has became more and more metaphorical, a symbol for the patterns of our lives, of our relationships, and I have been thinking about all the people sitting around that table-- who agrees to sit down, who talks and how, the patterns of the discussions, around the world. I remember being in Kentucky, the first time I saw the stools, sitting around a table outside with other artists from across the US, talking about the world situation. Now I live in England, and the table I am making is a way of sustaining that dialogue, inviting people to form a community online, to find strength in knowing that there are others around the table, from across the world. I hope that some of you might join me."