Variations on Normal

This project, a personal favourite of mine, was based on a Lost and Found Office but in this case it was full of odd and unusual objects… The project was led by artist Dominic Wilcox.

The Lost and Found Office of Oddities was the place that objects go that no one knows what they are or what they do. The staff of the office travelled around asking the general public for their ideas and suggestions about the objects and also help in tracking down the owners of these strange and odd objects. The suggestions were noted down to share and as part of the officious record keeping.

This amusing project was commissioned as research and development work done in readiness for the UK City of Culture. Although it didn’t lead on to a larger project, I felt it was a very successful project in and of itself and it was great to produce.

An official-looking website was also created so that the public could see the objects and give their suggestions as to what the objects could be.

This project aimed to inspire the imaginations of the public. It is a form of ‘reverse design’ in that the meaning or use of the objects are created after the object has been made by the artist.