What do you mean by things?  

We are inspired by thinkers such as Jane Bennett (and her analysis on ‘vibrant matter’ and paying attention to things themselves, rather than the human experience of things) and object-oriented ontology thinkers (that rejects the privileging of human existence over the existence of nonhuman objects), poets who turn their attention to the everyday objects that surround us (such as the Modernists, to name the best-known example), those who challenge a human-centric perspective, the tradition of still life painting, those who creatively document the things they touch, those who tell stories through objects, and much more. (See our resources page for projects we like.) We also like the small-scale thing; can it fit in your hand? We look forward to being surprised by your interpretation of ‘things’.  

Do you have any tips on taking a good photo? 

In order to centre the thing, we recommend placing it on a plain background (white or a single coloured piece of paper would work), as if you were taking its portrait. You can refer to the current things in the registry to get an idea. It doesn’t have to be a professional studio photograph, using your phone is also great. In the future, we might make an exhibition of the Registry, so we are also interested in how you centre these things and make them look beautiful. (We will of course contact people before using their images for anything other than this website and its related publicity.) 

How many images can I send?  

You can send as many as you like, although we ask that you send only ten things at one time to ease the workload for the team. The team will then pick the best images for each entry on The Registry. They don’t have to be very professional or artistic images, the idea is more to talk about the things and their meaning, rather than to collect just beautiful images without such meaning.  

Can I send a video?  

You can send a video, although it would need to be under 1 minute. 

Where do I send it?  

You can send the images to registryofthings@gmail.com with a short description of what it is and why you want to protect it (why is it important for thinking about the way we live?).   

Will anything be included?  

The Registry will not include anything obscene, racist, discriminatory, or aligned to a political party.  

What will the images be used for?  

The images will be posted on this website with a registry number, name of the thing and the description of why it should be protected. It might also be posted on social media. At a future date some Registry entries might be printed and displayed in an exhibition, but the team will always get in touch before using the images for any other purpose.