Maarten Vanden Eynde

I Want That You Want What I Want That You Want (2010), Art Brussels, Belgium, 2011 (photo: Philippe de Gobert)

I Want That You Want What I Want That You Want (2010), Art Brussels, Belgium, 2011 (photo: Philippe de Gobert)

Value is not universal and depends on the eye of the beholder as well as the beholder’s circumstances. 'I Want That You Want What I Want That You Want' is the title of a physical exchange in which an original STIHL chainsaw was swapped for an ebony copy, made in collaboration with two Cameroonian woodworkers, Haroun and Garba Tanko. On a micro level the exchange symbolises the daily import and export of machines, cars and tropical hardwood that takes place between Europe (Rotterdam/Antwerp) and Africa (Douala). After this ‘equal’ trade, Haroun and Garba continued to cut more trees, even faster than before as they now owned a chainsaw. In Belgium, Maarten Vanden Eynde exhibited the copy of the chainsaw as an art object at Art Brussels, the contemporary art fair.