Every Thing We Touch

Have you ever wondered how many objects you interact with during 24 hours? And what these object would tell about you someone who doesn’t know you? Paula Zuccotti London based designer started the project “Every Thing We Touch” in 2015, and since then she captured the life of more than 60 people trough their 24 hour inventories.

During Budapest Design Week I had the opportunity to meet Paula in person on the occasion of her exhibition in PH21 Gallery Budapest. She told us the story of her book, the inspirational experiences she had during the photoshoots and she also presented the result of her work as large size prints and she was so nice to gave me a copy of her book.

Every Thing We Touch is a collection of people’s stories told trough the objects they touched in a single day around six continents and seven decades. Their objects, elevated to the status of storytellers in their own right, tell us about their jobs and interests, what inspires them and gets them through their days, what they believe or fear, what they care about and what they want to learn –  drawing altogether a bigger picture of different cultures living side by side on our planet.

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“The design and ground rules for Every Thing We Touch were simple. I approached people and asked them to keep a record of all objects they touched on a day of their choice. I asked them to keep any train tickets, receipts or newspaper they touched. At the shoot, every person talked to me through their day while handing over their objects. Honesty was at the heart of the brief and participating meant including everything touched” – says Paula about her work.

In the book each photograph is first presented on its own, without supporting information, so the reader can make deductions about that person’s day before turning the page to find out more. What age and sex they are? How do they look like? Where and how do they live, and what do they do for a living? Some of the images are easier to ‘read’, some are more complex. After turning the page there will be the a written inventory of all objects touched with a portrait and description of each person and their day.

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Do you feel like taking part in the 24 hour story? Based upon Paula’s project the concept is now opening up to different narratives, aesthetics and techniques to document and share a day in our life. The resulting piece has to be one photograph (made by a single shot or a composition / mash up). Deadline 28 November. Click here for full details.

The amazing book of Paula Zuccotti is available at Amazon, here!