A silver cheetah-printed bag that fits just one phone, a series of coasters with men’s butts on display, and a framed cat treat bag.
These are three of the 30-odd items submitted to the new Museum of Bad Gifts installation at Northern Contemporary, an art gallery on Roncesvalles Avenue.
Shari Kasman, one of four artists behind the exhibit, said some of the items demonstrate that gift giving is deeply subjective — such as a blue robe, a pair of cardinal sculptures, or a nautical mug — all which were deemed “bad gifts” by their recipients, but could be appreciated by someone else.
Others, she said, are clearly objectively bad gifts — tacky, gross, or just plain horrible.
In that category, the exhibit features a bag of clipped-off cat nails, submitted by a recipient who was gifted them by a friend.
“My bestie in England and I like to send each other quirky gifts,” the recipient explained in a statement about the item. “This bag of what I think are cat nails was perhaps a little too quirky for me.”
Another section of the installation features a drawing station, where visitors can sketch their worst gift ever. One such drawing features a wet-dry vacuum in blue ink.
“When I was 14 my parents gave me this gift. They spent the morning asking me if I wanted to ‘use my gift,’” wrote the submitter. “It took about six years for me to appreciate the present.”
Sheets and shampoo: good gift or bad?
Dustin Dufault visited the gallery on Saturday with his ex-husband Robin Boostrom — which prompted him to remember the bad gifts of their past.
He said that over the course of their relationship, Boostrom gave him several sub-par gifts — sheets and shampoo, to name two.
He said that while those gifts might be great for someone else, they weren’t a hit in his case, because he believes Christmas is a time “when you get things you don’t need.”
“I can buy myself my own sheets or my own shampoo,” he said. “I want something that I wouldn’t normally get myself, [but which shows] that you thought of me.”
Boostrom conceded the point, while Dufault clarified, with a laugh, that the gifts did not end their relationship.
Jessie Sitnick, a Ronscesvalles resident who browsed the gallery the same day, said it’s the thought behind the gift that counts.
Pointing to a blue robe, one of more than 30 items submitted in a public call, Sitnick said the object could have been a great present, but the story behind the gift was what made it terrible.
“My ex and I were together for seven years. For our last Christmas together, he gifted me this bathrobe that he stole from the hotel that he worked at,” read the description of the item.
“The robe is deeply terrible,” Sitnick said. “It’s the intent behind it. That could be a perfectly comfy robe, but you stole it from where you work, which means you gave little thought [to it].”
In a similar vein, Kasman pointed out a cookbook for solo chefs during a gallery tour.
“It was given to someone at age 29 after she got divorced,” Kasman said. “She tried to return it and then found out it had come from a remainder bin.”
Consequences of bad gifts
Many of the gifts on display produced laughs from gallery visitors, but local writer Eva Stachniak said that bad gifts can also sometimes result in real hurt feelings, too.
Stachniak said that over the years, she’s been given things — like a pre-packaged collection of books — that demonstrate the giver didn’t know her as well as she had previously thought.
“They were kind of sad,” she said. “It’s the sadness that comes from the fact that someone you thought knew you really has no idea who you are.”
Stachniak said she loves reading and literature, but that the gift suggested the giver thought, “‘Oh, any book will do.’”
The local writer said, however, that she liked a gift-giving idea prompted by a separate section of the gallery which featured gifts that had been improved upon by local artists.
One item was a fuzzy multi-colour heart keychain, to which the artist had affixed off-centred eyes and fake buck-teeth.
Beside it, several items to the left, sat a large green stuffed animal reminiscent of Polkaroo, which had gotten an upgrade with an elf costume and fuzzy Christmas socks.
“My extended family believes that Xmas is a time for mass consumption and random gift giving,” said artist Maria Bui in a statement about the piece.
Bui seemed to appreciate the opportunity to contribute some of her goods. “I am a pack rat … so thanks for asking me to do this,” she said.
Exhibit to support food bank
The museum of bad gifts runs through January 5th, excluding New Year's Day.
At the exhibit’s closure, some of the items will be returned to their owners, while others will finally find a good home.
Many items, such as a Muppet CD, a game of adult charades and a scented candle are up for auction with starting bids at $5.
All funds raised will go to the Daily Bread Food Bank.
