Damien Robinson: Object-orientation: Recent Episodes
Damien Robinson: Object-orientation
Listen to the hidden stories of everyday - and not so everyday - objects brought by visitors to our Ghosts In The Machine programme at Tate Modern, March 2018, as part of Tate Exchange. You can read a transcript of each recording in the object description. During the same event, light paintings were made by the public under Damien's guidance. You can check them out here (https://youtu.be/fWpnOax-6lQ) , on our youtube channel.
I’ve chose the earrings that my mum gave me, I think six years ago. Actually they are not the same ones that my mum gave me because when I was in exchange in Australia I lost one of them and I didn’t want to tell her because she actually gave them to me when I first moved out of our home. I went to Milan to study and she was really attached to those earrings and knowing that I lost them in Australia was a very bad thing for her so I just bought a new pair and from then on they have been my favourite earrings. They are very easy. You can’t even notice them but I find them a connection to my family and all my background that I keep bringing with me all over the world and all the places I’ve been living too and that’s it.
This is a tape measure that shows you all the different animal sizes along it and I got it recently for my birthday from my mum. Probably why I have it on me all the time. But because it means a lot because it’s from her and because it was my birthday.
This is a cross-stitch of Dory from Finding Dory, the Pixar Disney animated film and it’s important to me because my daughter made it after she had suffered a nervous breakdown and so she was encouraged to do something that would keep her mind and her hands busy. It’s her third attempt at doing cross-stitch and as you can tell, it is really rather lovely so it does help her feel calmer and therefore, less stressed.
I got this from my grandfather seven years ago, and he died, so for me, it’s everything I have from him. I really like it. I have this all the day long.
My disposable camera is very important to me because it’s a collection of moments that are very precious to me. I mostly take them with me to trips but sometimes I use them at parties or when I see my friends or when a beautiful sunset appears and it’s just to capture the most wonderful moments and that’s what makes it so special to me.
My object is a scrunchie and it’s got this velvet feel. It’s black and I always have it around my wrist in case I want to tie my hair up and I like having it. I feel a bit naked if I don’t have it and if I’m nervous I will play with it and pull on it and that’s why it is important to me.
An image of the back of my hand. It’s kind of old in places and young in other. But also there’s many textures, colours, which I quite like. That’s really about it.
This object is something practical but it’s also pretty. I think that’s probably the reason I like it so much. Strangely enough, I don’t use it as often as I should or would because when I go and do a lot of shopping, I have somebody with me because I can’t carry anything very heavy. But is in unusual because the flower is actually pressed into the coin and I haven’t seen one like that before. And it was given to me, as well, by my granddaughter. That’s another reason. It’s useful, pretty, and it was a gift.
The object is my insulin pump so I’ve had that scanned on the screen and it’s quite significant for me. It’s quite a precious object because it keeps me alive. But it’s also incredibly technical and so amazing because for me, it’s how technology has really moved the development of managing my insulin on an insulin pump as I started on glass syringes and injections a long time ago, probably forty four years ago so this is like the modern way of managing it and it’s really quite exciting because it gives you so much flexibility and freedom, stuff that I didn’t have before. So, as the technology moves quite rapidly, it’s quite exciting to link technology of things like insulin pumps to being able to work, to be more efficient in everything really so it’s fantastic for me and it’s a very precious object.
It’s a painting by my Nan that always hung up in her house and she died in December of last year and I’ve got the photo on my phone because it reminds me of good times spent with my grandparents.
This is my work pass that I use to get in and out of the building. If I lose it, it’s £25. I’ve lost a couple already so it’s quite important that I keep this one safe so when I’m at work I blu tack it to my computer screen so I can’t lose it. Also If I lose this blu tack I can’t get my bike in and out of the building, which is a problem for me basically so that’s why it’s important.
I chose my partners beanie because she loves the summer and she loves warmth and it just makes her tick and I think that its special because of where she was born and where we met .... it was some of the happiest times of our life and I think that that's who she is as a person – she’s quite warm.
I’m choosing these glasses because they belong to the love of my life and they represent who he is and what makes him, him. And I know that he would be lost without his glasses and that’s his way of accessing the world. It’s his way of accessing ‘The Economist,’ and ‘The Financial Times’ and all of the things that he loves to read. That’s why I choose the glasses.
I bought this ring in a big market near Islington Station … in London. This ring has lots of my memories of London … a long time ago.
We took a picture of ourselves. The first picture of us in physical form at the Tate and that camera was the first birthday gift I’ve given him and this is the first trip that we’ve taken together. So it’s a lot of firsts.
I’ve got some badges on my jacket here. Some of them don’t really mean anything. I just thought they looked nice. I’ve got an Australia badge which I picked up last time I was in Australia which is where I am from so it’s nice to have that with me at all times when I’m wearing the jacket and a little Basquiat badge from the Basquiat exhibition at the Barbican which was an exhibition I really enjoyed a few months ago and then the other one I really like is the Frida Kahlo badge which a friend sent to me from Australia for my birthday which I thought was a really thoughtful gift, as well.
This object is very important to me. It’s my son’s spoon. He’s 8 months old and he really likes eating with it.
I chose the pick from my pocket which I carry around every day because I’m a guitarist as a job, actually, so it’s always good to have one on me. My mum came into this exhibition I think about an hour or two ago and told me to come in and said she also found some of my picks in her pocket which she talked about so I thought that would make a lovely connection between the two of us. Carrying them around all the time.
My bracelet really was once a rosary- which has special links to my family's upbringing as a catholic. Although I've fallen apart from traditional religion, as a bracelet it serves as a powerful reminder for the behaviours I want to keep/follow me on my path of recovery, in a similar way to its original purpose of prayer and reflection.
I bought this ring yesterday at Camden market. I picked it up because I thought it was a cool colour and it will be a memory from this trip to London.
This ring is my husband’s, or my partner’s, ring. He has had it on his finger for twenty five years since we met for the first time and I like it because it’s not perfectly round because it’s been on the finger for many years and you can see that with the shape.
This is my keyring and it’s my running club’s keyring. When I first moved to Southend, nearly four years ago, didn’t really know anyone, didn’t really have many friends there. So, I joined the running club and now I have lots and lots of friends and every time that I go running, this is the key that I take with me and the keyring that I take with me and that’s it.
These are three objects, actually. It’s a small white cat that was sculpted by my husband, who’s an artist, and it represents our deaf cat who was a support cat for my daughter, our daughter. There’s also a picture of a Disney cat called Marie, who was my daughter’s first sign. She is severely autistic and doesn’t speak very well and the hat was knitted by my sister for the Innocent company for a charity to help with the elderly, so it’s a combination of three images that are very important to me.
I picked up this watch for my move to Europe. I’ve always been a big fan of miniaturisation and the Japanese art of making things smaller and Casio, being a Japanese brand, has achieved that really well in this watch. I find it suits satisfying to just look at it every day and enjoy how well engineered it is.
I brought a book from my mum’s collection of Agatha Christie’s. I was taking a train this morning from Stafford to come and see this exhibition because one of my friends is taking part. My mum bought the book, probably from a charity shop. She bought a lot of books. My parent’s house is full of books. You can walk in and borrow them. It’s like a library. But my mother died in December so she won’t be adding to it anymore but I will read all of them if I can.
This ring was made for me by my friend, Natalie, who is a jewellery designer and we did a swap. She made it for me and I took some photographs for her because I’m a photographer and the reason I chose this ring is because it’s very unique because the original design didn’t have the hole in but then on one of the designs, this piece where the hole is, actually fell out and I thought it was really beautiful and so did some other people so she started to make them and I was the first person who had one and it was really nice because I’d never afforded myself anything too expensive, to go and have something measured specifically for me. But she did that. She measured it for me and we chose the materials and the three little black diamonds in it and just being able to have something that I know my friend made is… I cherish it and everyone comments on it so it was a very nice experience.
This is the badge that I got at the London Irish abortion rights campaign. As you might know, we don’t have access to legal abortion in Ireland. It’s because of the constitution. There was an amendment added to the constitution in 1983 which meant that it was not legal to acquire or receive abortions in Ireland unless the life of the mother is at risk and there is a lot of ambiguity because of this addition to the constitution and I think that it just doesn’t really help to keep women safe and as such, they don’t really have any choices in terms of acquiring an abortion in Ireland. So because of this, some women choose to travel. Well, they have to, if they want to have an abortion then they need to travel to the UK. I think this is wrong. Women who have the made the decision to end their pregnancy are often in already very stressful situations, experiencing a lot of hurt and fear and pain, and to make them go through the process of leaving the country where they are from, their support networks and their systems to do what they feel is in their best interests, or in their families best interests, is very wrong I feel. So this badge, states my view point and it says ‘Let the choice be with you.’ I think every women in Ireland and everywhere else should have choice over their own body and their own pregnancies and it’s not for me or anyone else to decide what’s best for them. I think that choice should be with them.
The reason I chose these two objects is because I was just walking outside Tate Modern today and there was the happy person telling me about the happy times initiative. They help people in need. Especially now in the cold and I decided why not share their story and maybe tray and raise a bit of awareness as well and the second object are my ear buds. I decided to take them as well because sometimes we close each other from whatever is happening around us so to make a contrast between the two objects.
It’s a green wallet made out of leather and I received it from my best friend as a gift one year ago and I take it every day with me, and its very small so I should choose what kind of stuff I take with me and what is important for me, so I’m happy to always carry it with me.
It’s a ring made of coral. It was bought by my dad to my mum during our first trip abroad to Sardinia. And I loved the ring so much that my mum just gave it to me and every day I wear this. We live in other countries so having this ring with me means a lot because I can always think about my mum when I have it on my hands.
My mum gave me that keyring because its half of a heart and my sister has the other half so no matter where we are, we are part of a whole and we are always together, connected.
This watch I have, it can speak aloud the time. It can be used by sighted, by blind people, and deaf people, equally. Now, the thing about this talking watch is it brings to mind a time when businesses and public buildings were so proud to be wheel-chair accessible so some of them actually had signs on the side saying they were wheel-chair accessible and basically just because they’d added a concrete ramp. I wasn’t impressed particularly. I can use a ramp just as easily as I can use a set of stairs so as an able-bodied person I wasn’t impressed. I think ramps should be common places. Talking watches should be common places. Light switches that are waist height that we can all reach, they should be common place and this watch is just a kind of example of one way of thinking.
This pink heart is the keyring for my house keys. I was on holiday in Poole with my parents. My mum saw this in a shop and bought it for me because she knows I love everything pink and anything heart-shaped. I keep it with me every day. Tina.
The practical embodiment ‘better safe than sorry.’ First introduced by my good mother who lives in Berlin. I’ve adopted their use. They seem to still be a pioneer and the use of crampons have luckily coincided with the ‘Beast from the East’ this year and I have to say that I’ve arrived safely hoping to also share this experience with the founders to get home safely. Laughs Cross any snow I see. Challenge they might face.
These are objects that are important because they belong to my sister who is a triple cancer survivor and the little reindeer, I bought her when she was told she was in readmission. So that’s why they are really important to her and to us and she’s still got them.
These headphones represent, kind of, the inside of my head. They’re also faulty. Which means sometimes people can’t hear me speak and I can’t hear them reply but they also represent my passion for music which has been long-standing, big indie fan, and maybe why my hearing isn’t quite as good as it should be and certainly isn’t with these faulty headphones. But I still love them and I still use them constantly. My passion.
French My name is Jule. We are visiting London for the third time together as a family. French There is a watch in the picture because we have no time because we are only here for three days. French There is a Harry Potter label as well because we have received presents from the Harry Potter store. French There is a coin because it’s always something you need to have and we had some in our pockets. French There is a USB stick because we have a file with activities planned in it. French and the Oyster Card is for us to travel all around the city.
This tag was my golden retriever’s first one when he was eight weeks old. My twin sister is severely autistic and I hope to train Steve to become an assistant dog for her. This will hopefully allow her to have more independence in the future.
This is a favourite necklace of mine. Turquoise is supposed to be protective. I think the turquoise is beautiful but I also like that it helps me feel calm in some situations.
I really like fairy glass because it’s not like normal glass and fairies make it. Normal glass cuts you and hurts you but fairy glass is very pretty and it comes in different colours and shapes.
In Bosnia, I think it was in Sarajevo, there were peace-keeping forces there. There were still landmines in the fields and other places and there was quite a sad and depressed atmosphere over the country still because of the war. So, this pen made of bullet cases and the larger cartridge case that it slots into was a real symbol of that time, and I just like how the bullets have been turned into something more useful, something creative, something that’s good, and I like the nice feminine designs on the cartridge case. It’s definitely a good symbol of hope at that time. I keep it on my desk in the hope that maybe it’ll inspire some good writing at some time, but mostly I keep it to remind me of that period and my travels in Bosnia.