Objects in Flux - RMIT Research Repository - RMIT University

Objects in Flux
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tion. In addition, effective modes of resistance may be found within
the practice itself. Documents such as the ‘Makers Bill of Rights’
(Jalopy, 2005) and the ‘Repair Manifesto’ (Platform21, 2009), while
having little commercial influence, indicate a high level of political
awareness within the practice and suggest a degree of organized
resistance. Whether practices of object modification are effective in
escaping commercial control may however lie in the disorganized
resistance they offer. If commercial institutions fail to capture these
practices as productive labor this will probably be due to the practices
irreducibility to institutionalized logic and its endlessly adaptive, adhoc
approach to its environment.
7.7 Active engagement
My participation in the field of object modification has highlighted the
process-driven nature of these activities. The overwhelming experience
has been one of perpetual engagement where actions remain
open and responsive to the conditions of their environment. The modified
object, far from being the sum of the practice, becomes a conduit
through which the practice takes place (Warde, 2005, p. 138). While
stories from the field, such as those presented in chapter five, begin to
give insight into this experience, there remains aspects of the practice
that cannot be captured or represented. These stories do not simply
describe the practice, they enact it. As de Certeau states, ‘The story
does not express a practice … it makes it. One understands it, then, if
one enters into this movement oneself’ (1984, p. 81).
In order to gain a deep understanding of these practices the individual
must actively engage these stories. For me, this engagement has been
a rewarding experience that has permanently changed my relationship
to the objects in my life. Through publicly documenting this experience
via the research blog I hope my activities provide encouragement
to others – as I, in turn, have been encouraged by others. I encourage
you to take up a role of object modifier and actively engage your material
environment. From the evidence given in this research, there is a
very good chance that this is something you already do.