Tom Watson

Date Added:
[June 8, 2013]
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Tom Watson has offered a ‘visual interpretation’ of the term: Object abuse.

Title: Soft Touch (Life jacket & Thread, Height 20x Width 25x Depth 2cm, 2012)

“I emulated the required thickness of leather by wrapping polyurethane foam in the polyester outer, and then following exactly the craft of master whip maker Ron Edwards,  to produce a bullwhip, without the mass required to function.”

Each one of these visual interpretations adds insight and depth to what exactly Object Abuse might look like. This question is by no means obvious when you think about it, who is to say the object in question is passive and not active, where does any variation of abuse originate from? And what is an object, or can we really say with any certainty what is not an object?

OA’s intension is to provide a platform to question the very nature and orientation of objects. The aim is to readdress the unquestioned drives of our collective pursuits, to turn the tables on the object-subject dynamic.

If you would like to offer us a visual interpretation, please go the our contact page and let us know: contact

OA began as a symposium, now it is housed as a website and next it will become a network, with events; presentations and exhibitions.
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Object abuse asks the question:
who or what is being abused?

Object Abuse has been set up to provide a platform for people to discuss, provoke and question the very nature and orientation of objects. The aim is to readdress the unquestioned drives of our collective pursuits, to turn the tables on the object-subject dynamic.

This investigation’s relevance is reflected in recent developments in philosophy, shifts in our socio-cultural landscape and is finding expression in the visual arts. This questioning of our human-centric perspective is reflected through current ideas found in the works of Bruno Latour, Graham Harman, Quentin Meillassoux, Anselm Franke and others.

The question: what exactly is object abuse is by no means obvious, when you think about it, who is to say the object in question is passive and not active? Also it is worth asking where does the form of abuse originate from? What qualifies abuse, is it quantifiable, can we identify subtler variations? And for that matter; what is an object, or rather can we say what is not an object…with any real certainty?

OA‘s function is to invite a multidisciplinary engagement; to be a forum, a curatorial framework and an archival space.

We welcome expressions of interest and contributions to the ongoing debate.