Object Autopsy

Object Autopsy – Mirror to Light Projector

This final production explored the process of taking objects from charity shops apart to produce another object. This was a timely, but overall satisfying project, proving that object materials may still have use if the object itself is outmoded or partially damaged, within reason.

Among the objects purchased from charity shops in Morningside were a framed mirror and a storage box with four small drawers.

The mirror glass was removed from the frame, which was redesigned from portrait to landscape. Partially unscrewed, the frame became free to swing between the edges. The frame was repainted black, partially to circle back to a Halloween-inspired design.

The drawers were removed from the storage box, which was cut in half with a power saw so it would not be a heavy burden on the mirror frame. The base of the box was given a new cover with torn scraps of wallpaper glued together to cover the original design. The wallpaper was of stone walls, which fit a Halloween aesthetic.

A remote-controlled USB LED strip was purchased from TK Maxx, which meant that the borders of the box (where the drawers originally fit in) had to be partially cut around the main parameter of the box. This meant that the LED strip could be stuck over all four edges of the box. Once tested in the dark, the strength of the light proved slightly weak, presumable with the layers of the LED strip over one another. This emitted a faded shadow that layered over each other.

While the end result produced a weak outcome, the design process was astounding to relive the primal instinct of taking objects apart to see how they work and later give the human ingenuity to repurpose the materials left behind.