Objects of Care

We created the Objects of Care card deck to scaffold a game that would cultivate attention to bodies and care. “Objects of Care” prompts its players to look more closely at the objects in their lives, notice signs of care in those objects and re-think their relationships with said objects. We believe the card deck, based on the interactions we’ve had with it thus far, offers a few insights for prompting attention to bodily interactions by focusing on the way they manifest in textiles. This tended to have the effect of prompting people to take time with the old and “gross” and see them as rich historical artifacts, a kind of archaeology of the body constructed through the marks and smells it left on textiles.

The cards were lovely designed by Paris Miller

Notice cards contain shapes that participants cut out. Each shape functions as a viewfinder, or hole through which objects can be looked at and inspected.

Each matter card lists a category of materials (protein, cellulose, metallic, synthetic) as well as a list of example materials that belong in that category in order to spark imagination.

Act cards prompt the player to do something (transform, amplify, preserve, commemorate) with the signs of care in the object they brought.

‘Idea’ Cards: The idea cards prompt participants to generate and document their idea in a particular format. They include: write your idea as a poem, mock up your idea from everyday materials and photograph it like it’s a product on a website; make a simple line drawing of your idea; collage your idea.