In 2005, I proposed the installation of a Geschenker (English ‘gift-giver’) to the City of Freiburg. It would consist of a rectangular, hollow massive frame in which to put in and take things out. It was designed to be a monument to exchange – a small scaled monument accessible to everyone.

The idea of a Gift-giver as a proposal for a piece of public art within a new urban neighbourhood arose from some of my thoughts at the time about the role of the artist. I considered the artist to occupy a space between taking from the world and giving back to it. Who is speaking when the artist is speaking remains a central question to me.

In 2011, I returned to the Gift-giver and created the first Give & Take: a wooden shelf unit. I installed it down the street in front of my studio. From my studio window, I was able to see innumerable materials entering and exiting the shelf. I observed people approaching the shelf to see what was inside. Some put things in, others took things out; some people met in front and talked to each other. Flyers were pinned on it. The Give & Take turned out to be a new station for social communication.

We give and take all of the time. The shelf visualizes the phenomenon making it tangible. As an artist, I commit myself to work on Give & Take. 

In 2014, I proposed the commission to the City of Bocholt. Historically, this city on the border between Germany and Holland is used to daily contact between different languages and practices. 
On my first visit, I was struck by seeing people of 80 different ethnicities living in the restricted space of a small town. Give & Take is currently installed in four locations at different corners of the city. They were built at a technical college attended by international students.