Objectified - An experimental thing ethnography and questions on the nature of human-centrisism

Objectified is a poetic ethnography of an object. Using the “Day in the life of” model of observation, I shot various images of a coffee mug as it went on its journey through a single day. In translating the observations and questions that were sparked as a result of these observations, I wrote the following verse

Addicted puppets

Fondle me in an unintelligible protrusion.

For a twinkling trice these articles of intention

Procure a titillation

Of which I am unconscious.

Strange gibbosities

Scalding heat fills me up

And I radiate that warmth, by design

My purpose is suspiciously benign

Poke, tap and toy with me.

I sojourn stone cold and resilient

Stained and sans retaliation

Fulfilling my destiny

As these depraved trappings

Reach pinnacles of sybaritic nirvana.

The poem supports a series of visuals that are a speculation on how an object sees itself and its surroundings. Not having eyes, it would seem like a probable speculation that an object would “see” itself through the contact that it has with its surroundings. I wrote a ray-tracing program that uses an image as input and calculates the incidences of light in the image providing me with an outline rendering of the original image. The images shown above are the rendered images.

An ethnography, irrespective of however experimental its approach might be, is only as useful as the questions it begins to allow us to engage with. Here were some that were brought to my attention in participating in this study:

  • What is the distinction between human objectification and object humanisation?

  • What is the relationship between the user and the used?

  • What other ways of “seeing” can we start to acknowledge, especially within the design practice?

  • Is our intimacy with certain objects intrusive?

  • How does an object signify its intimacy and its express interest to engage intimately with a person?

  • Does not Human Centred Design reduce the human to an object by developing a series of standardised and reductionist heuristics for understanding human necessity?

  • What is an object?

Do reach out to me if you would like to talk about these questions or any others.