Our Valuable Things

Marianne Rouche

In the world of real estate, one form of value obscures all others. Through the mechanisms employed to raise funds, to lure investors, attract partners, develop land and sell property, financial value overrides a multitude of other forms of relationships and conceptions of worth. In Valuable Things, artist Marianne Rouche conducts an intimate, interactive survey, bringing participants to explore and expose the small parts of everyday life we value.

Thematic

Professor

Location

Date

Value

Marie-Sophie Banville

Montreal, Qc

May 2020

1. What does it mean for something to have value ?

The Oxford English Dictionary defines “value” as:

I. Worth or quality as measured by a standard of equivalence.

1 : The monetary worth of something : Market Price
II. Worth based on esteem; quality viewed in terms of importance, usefulness, desirability, etc.

(“Value”, n.1 ,n.2)

2. How do we measure the value of something?

Real estate is closely tied to the world of finance. Real estate markets depend upon processes of financialization in which all goods, services, and – arguably – living beings (human and non-human actors) are seen, understood and related to as assets which have a certain worth which can be readily exchanged for currency. Indeed, a quantitative system estimates and establishes the value of land, and property through a combination of factors. This property value is closely tied to speculation and to the potential benefit that one could make out of it. The notion of market value is central and fundamental to the functioning of real estate markets. It does not take into account a variety of other factors which contribute the value of the land and the structures above it. Such a financial understanding of value pushes aside elements which also come into play in determining the value of a land and property; the environment, ancestry and memory, ties and relationships which are at the heart of our world.

I wonder if the inclusion of more qualitative aspects of value could lead to more sustainable, reciprocal and responsible behaviours towards the land and each other. I want to investigate how people commonly understand and relate to the notion of value. I wanted to highlight the stories we tell about the different kinds of relationships that we foster and maintain with the things and beings around us. Furthermore, I inquire into the ambiguous tension between ethics and value.

3. Our Valuable Things

Our Valuable Things is an open participatory archival project that explores the notion of value in our everyday life and surroundings. How does the concept of “value” come to be socially recognized, collectively represented and symbolized in our cultural imagination ? As a visual archive, this project seeks to host a conversation around the open-ended and working definitions understanding of concepts which we use to organize and give meaning to our world.

This project was conducted entirely from my computer in April 2020, during the COVID-19 confinement in Montreal. Unable to lead a site- specific participatory experience/ intervention, I turned to digital media as a way to connect and engage with people. I sent out an open call on my social network with the following instructions:

4. Communal Archiving project: Guidelines

Take a photo of something : [Remember, something is taken really loosely here- thing can refer to non-material things as well ]

You can also add elements of text, or label your images if you wish to elaborate further.

Take a photo of:

Something you own
Something you owe to someone or something
Something which you feel morally obligated to strive towards
Something which, in your opinion, has great value
Something which, in your opinion, has no value

I compiled the answers of 31 people, friends and strangers alike.

Their consent was given for the use of the images and captions.

Everything that appears below was intended to the reader of the essay for the sake of clarity and organization sake ; it’s just a blueprint that explains the formatting and desired layout of the images (34 individual folders +_5 collective answers folders)

Demo of the 5 collective archives; does not display the full 34 participants’ answers.

[The work remains incomplete until it can be implemented online. Until Unless the participants are able visit a virtual platform/ web page and browse through the archive themselves, the project will has not come into its existence.

As I do not have access to the website where the projects will be posted, b Below is a simple blueprint for the last steps of its realization which I would volunteer to do were it to be too complicated to set up because of the many files/links.]

Below, the links to the different photo albums.