When I organised this workshop, I simply wanted to understand how the students would look at common objects and what they would be able to imagine starting from familiar shapes.
The objects were the same for everyone, but many different stories were created!
Some students started from the shape of the object, others from an idea or an image they already had in their mind. A detail could become something completely different depending on who was looking at it.
This activity confirmed something that I am exploring in my research: the meaning of an object is never completely fixed. It does not depend only on what the object is, but also on the person looking at it and the experiences they bring with them.
I would definitely do this workshop again! I was surprised to see how quickly the students were able to move beyond the function of the object and imagine new possibilities. It also created a new curiosity for me: what would happen if I did the same exercise with adults?
One thing I would improve is leaving more space for randomness in the choice of objects: instead of giving everyone the same objects, I would let each participant pick different ones, creating new and unexpected combinations.
The most interesting part of the activity was exactly this: there was no right answer, every object could become something different!
