Dammy Ponnuthurai’s next essay explores The Language of Objects.
He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as engravers, designers,
embroiderers in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and weavers—all of them
skilled workers and designers. Exodus 35:35
When I walk around my local neighbourhood, my eye is often caught by left objects atop walls or steps. These can range from toys to books to Tupperware and all the familiar bric-a-brac that makes up the tapestry of our daily experiences. We can perhaps imagine what stories these objects might tell us. The tactility, placement and presence of objects hold a language of their own. Our first steps in the world without the immediate use of language can be witnessed in the gestures of small infants as they chew, lick pick up any object around them. We ascertain that some objects are more favourable to them than others, simply by perception but without any confirmation through language from the child.
In his TED Lecture ‘The Secret Language of Objects’, academic, designer and consultant Craig Sampson, shares his belief that objects in themselves create subroutines, (1) a term most commonly used in computer engineering, in which objects themselves define and evolve the way we interact. Taking simple everyday items like the door knob which was invented only within the last hundred years, he explains that we use our multitude of senses when we approach even the simplest of everyday objects, such as say with a pen that we click to release the nib: do we see, hear or feel this interaction? This multi-sensory method of engaging with objects, Sampson suggests, creates a language of its own, communicated in part by the designers of these objects whose work informs not only function but their own sensibilities.
If we accept this notion that objects create their own language, maybe we can understand why they take on such meaning in our lives. This meaning ascribes to holding longevity, as they connect to the multisensory nature of memory itself. In the book Handbuilt by Potter Lilly Maetzig, she describes this vividly in a memory of eating porridge with her grandparents in New Zealand. “I felt as though we were digging for treasure. Each spoonful was an uncovering, one bite closer. At the bottom of the shallow bowl was the stark blue and white icon that I know as the willow pattern. It was the fact that I was able to eat off the willow pieces that I found so enticing and special.”
(1) COMPUTING a set of instructions designed to perform a frequently used operation within a program.
We find so many of our memories are formed around what may simply be described as perfunctory or material objects. There is a sense that objects, though themselves without language, can openly communicate. The setting of a fire, for example, invokes not only a feeling of warmth but changes the whole atmosphere of the moment. Objects like wood-burning stoves go beyond their functional purpose; they work to frame and change our daily experiences. The experience of the three bears in the fairy story Goldilocks saw them suspecting an uninvited visitor simply by nudges in the placement of their seating arrangements, rather than the disappearance of the porridge itself. In nature, we see the careful arrangement of say the Coots’ nest and the protective gestures by the mother and father as one guards the nest and the other collects added layers of comfort. Whilst we may not understand the language of birds, we can see that the interaction of coots passing each other twigs as a clear sign of building their home.
The language of objects can also be used as a form of protest to represent identity. In Ahmedabad, Mahatma Gandhi wove Khadi, a handspun and handwoven fabric. Gandhi believed that Khadi was not just a fabric but a means to connect the people of India to their roots, to the rural villages, and to the dignity of labour. Today we face a global refugee crisis that raises many questions about identity and currently affects 170 million people who are globally displaced. One story captured on the 21st of June for World Refugee Day is that of a woman who, out of all her possessions, chose to save her tea set. When asked why she saved that in particular, she replied that it meant that she might one day be able to share tea with others. The study indicates that refugees show the greatest kindness and human empathy and through the stripping back of every sense of home; it’s a testament to this empathy that the sharing of tea informed her decisions of which object to save.
Our deep connection with the objects we surround ourselves with is reflected by Potter Steve Harrison, who believes that an eclectic collection of objects allows for a richness not found in the uniformity of object collection. “For me, using a variety of exquisite and special objects every day creates a richness born from a feeling of familiarity and becomes something I cannot live without. An eclectic mix of pots brought together out of necessity allows for individual pieces to take on a special meaning, not through any intent, but simply because it happened that way. Change occurs when you see the same thing with infinite possibilities. Only through using them freely and without concern can their beauty be revealed. Picasso said ‘Appreciate objects and eat them alive’”