In To Give Something Back (2020–24) a lost object — another’s fur hat — is replaced in situ in the form of its own image; materially, the hat remains lacuna while its image has taken on an entirely new physical shape. As a surrogate for subjecthood in the process of erosion and finally as a placeholder for the grief that remains for those left behind, Kellein has the hat move through several metamorphoses: a photograph of it against a red backdrop becomes a resin sculpture in the shape of a plush cushion, returned to the accustomed place on a lace doily on top of a wooden shelf as a gift for the beloved person who was unwell, and is now gone.

The seemingly simple act of replacement has been filmed, later using both video and still images—media which are more easily physically detached and circulated—as further accumulations of strata around the act of impossible return. Another resulting work is also an iteration of the original image, albeit deteriorated to the point of unrecognisability.