Found Objects

Collection of Found Objects, and the Narratives They Create

     During the past several weeks, while going about my usual strolls through Lincolnville, I collected what I deemed to be notable items I found discarded along the way. I selected my found objects based on visuals they created, memories they could relate to, or simply how they looked. The following is a series of responses and narratives for each object in my collection. Quickly noticing the theme in the objects that caught my attention, I decided it would be best to document them by scanner, with composition decisions that mimicked the qualities of crime scene evidence photos.

     I found what I believe to be a detached bicycle reflector near a telephone pole on my way to school one morning. I imagine it captured my attention because of the light it cast. Because of it being located near a place a bike would be locked up, I imagined it being nocked off by a pedestrian or left behind by a thief... which sparked the idea of inventing a narrative or memory that could exist for each object.

    Developing that train of thought may have made me more likely to notice a handcuff located behind a neighbors house. It was quite easy to come to some suggestive and obvious conclusions about how this item may have made its way into my possession. From that point, I became quite set on the idea of inventing narratives for each piece.

   I found these stickers during a rainy day... I was surprised their adhesive was so well maintained. They appear to belong to some form of birth control. They also have a level of innuendo that appealed to me. I could imagine some girl dropping these out of her purse or could take the commands of the stickers literally and allow them to create an entirely different, yet related narrative.

   I admit I found tiny toy gun suspiciously near my house. Sure, I may have lost it on a particularly rainy day a couple of weeks ago, but regardless... I found it again. And at what a convenient time! It fit the story of the rest of my collection so well.

   Not much of a story here... this little guy just looked and felt way too awesome for me to leave him out of my collection. Besides, "hard" and "flashy" seemed to be trending aspects of my objects. He still fit in.

     I found this near my friends house on the other side of Lincolnville. Based on the stories she tells me,  I'm not terribly surprised that I came across it. Still, it was a great addition to my collection... and I loved the color! The scanner photo happened to serve as an awesome snapshot of my invented story of the object. I love how the shell looks to be slowly falling.

    I discovered this oddity a few streets away from me. I have no idea what it is. I have no idea what it belongs to or how it got to be where I found it. It is completely alien to me.

    My roommates and I actually uncovered this while cleaning up an evicted house. I knew it would look great on a scanner and easily fit the theme that had formed during the course of my collecting. The potential stories this bra could tell seemed endless and hilarious. It's the perfect end piece to my series of found objects.