Join us to open this exhibition of things that helped our participants endure long COVID-19 lockdowns
About this Event
Objects have been central to human history, culture and life. According to Maurizio Ferraris, objects are characterised by four qualities: sensory-ness, manipulability, ordinariness and relationality (2009). In everyday life, objects can enhance resilience when they are mobilised in strategies of resourcefulness and ‘making do’.
The pandemic has necessitated greater appreciation of the power of things. The spread of the novel coronavirus’ invisible variants has permanently altered the conditions and perceptions of human life on the planet, forcing us to dwell on the vitality intrinsic to materiality, and renewing awareness of human lives as taking place within a broader ecology of life forms.
The prevalence of wild animals in cities, for example, suggested the potential to de-centre humanity's planetary position. Initially viewed by many as an opportunity to slow down, this pandemic induced immobility appeared to prompt a kind of ‘degrowth’ as industries the world over paused operation and pollution levels plummeted.
Within this posthuman perspective, distinctions between life and matter are blurred, and humans are displaced from a hierarchical ontological centre. In an essay titled, ‘The Go Slow Party’, anthropologist Michael Taussig theorises a ‘mastery of non-mastery’ that yields to the life of the object (2015). This yielding – a necessary response to the conditions of the pandemic – can enable greater attentiveness to the interconnectedness and enmeshment of all things, leading to broader understandings of self and of resilience.
To what extent might this social-ecological understanding of resilience be further enhanced by attending to nonhuman materialities that can contribute or erode resilience within human relations?
In response to the pandemic context, through qualitative aesthetic attention, ‘Objects for Everyday Resilience’ seeks to facilitate greater openness to objects’ vitality in order to produce new encounters that further understandings of multisystemic resilience. Such insights are critically tied to human mental health and physical wellbeing and will enable the development of shared resources that support such resilience during the period of recovery from the pandemic and beyond.
The objects collected for this project tell stories about how people from all walks of life sustained them during extended lockdowns. Listen and read their stories about resilience during lockdown, and feel free to contribute your own.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Deakin Downtown, Level 12, Tower 2, Melbourne, Australia
AUD 0.00
