The Lives of Objects - From collecting to creating

A couple of months ago my sister and I, aka the Miss Alans (IYKYK) made it to the V&A Storehouse, a huge building in East London filled with objects not currently on display at the museum. It was hard to grasp or even know if I was going to like it until I went. In fact, what I loved was the space itself, so it didn’t really matter what objects were on display, they just existed to make the space. It could be the facade of a torn down council estate spanning 2 floors, or a small cabinet filled with retro mugs.

Before you visit you can pre-order an object, so you can hold it and examine it yourself. We enjoyed watching an older couple swooning over one little cup for ages, taking photos of it from all angles, picking it up, putting it down. It was quite a simple cup, modernist in nature. I wondered what it was and why they had chosen it.

You only have to watch The Repair Shop to see how emotional objects can make you. It made me think about what I’d choose to pre-order, and which objects bring me joy in my own home.

I went through a phase of diligently collecting mid-century ceramics, but the things that mean the most to me now are the family heirlooms, like my grandfather’s music box or the little ceramic spoon from my mum and the swooned-over painting I saved up for and hung in a specially reserved spot in the hall.

Susan Disley / Janine Burrows

I have also decluttered a lot recently, a project subconsciously kickstarted by a big birthday and clearing out parents’ houses. There’s nothing like sorting through someone else’s possessions to make you re-evaluate yours. I found a few lists online like 99 oddly specific things to declutter right now and they inspired me. For example:

7) Plastic plant pots you’ve saved so you can reuse them but you realistically know it won’t happen. Or 22) Scissors that are not cutting well.

I found 7 boxes of staples dating from the 1960s onwards.

Later on I discovered I was just automatically doing something known as Swedish Death Cleaning (Döstädning). It’s more than just decluttering, it’s making things easier for your children, and makes you focus on the things that actually have importance to you, and letting them know why. I doubt if my children know why I keep that particular tiny spoon on my bookshelf.

These days I draw and paint objects more than I buy them, like these pots I’ve been printing inspired by Lucie Rie, and my interiors on birch panel. Let’s face it, I’ll never be able to buy an actual Lucie Rie.

Drypoint and carborundum prints with chine colle

Acrylic on birch panel