Soon after the first lockdown came to an end and we were allowed to go back into shops, I had a conversation with one of the shop assistants in Boots that reflected the changing values and priorities some people were starting to make.
She said one of the most important things she had realised over lockdown was the joy of giving and receiving ‘meaningful’ gifts! I know at first this might not seem like your top priority after or during a pandemic but it had obviously really had an impact on her. She said someone had come round and given her a plant and she was bowled over at how thoughtful this was compared with the usual box of generic chocolates. I was struck by how genuinely she was expressing her personal revelation. She went on to talk about how she hoped that one of the effects of the pandemic would be that people would be much more thoughtful about the gifts they were giving to people. That rather than just buying plastic pre packaged gift sets people might buy something with meaning behind it.
She asked how my lockdown had been so I told her about the sad closure of The Art Room and my redundancy but consequent launch into life as a full time artist. She was so excited and interested in what I was doing and said several times how important it was that I was creating something meaningful for people to buy. I know when I’m giving gifts I like trying to find something that is significant for the person, or has been made by an artist or maker, or a book or something to encourage creativity - but what does meaningful mean to you? Obviously I’m also concerned about the amount of ‘stuff’ that is constantly being churned into our lives and then chucked thoughtlessly away or using up energy being recycled. So does buying something from an artist help towards the redressing of mass consumerism? That’s one area of meaning I’m interested in. But also, there’s something about buying a meaningful gift which can convey some kind of emotion or care either in it’s content or in its intention. On the whole, artists’ work is about our reflections on and observations of our lives both individually and collectively. So our work can often inadvertently touch someone else’s life because something about it is relatable from one human being to another. It is also often a ‘one off’ and adds to the value of the gift in that it draws attention to the uniqueness of the receiver.
I was moved by the conversation I had with this lovely woman who I’ve come to know over the years I’ve popped in to Boots for my eyeliner! I hope that she is just one of many thousands of people who’s values are shifting and the gifts we give to each other don’t continue to cost the earth. As we head towards Christmas in the uk - a season I have come to dread, I hope there are signs of a shift in the way we show our love and appreciation of others and stop buying crap just for the sake of it.