Dumb Object, is a détournement of Big Dumb Object (BDO) a term from science fiction writing, an oxymoron used to describe any unexplained extraterrestrial object in a narrative whose presence inspires awe, but also implying another entity that it represents but which remains unseen. Using this trope as a starting point, the dumbØbject project launching today is an online archive of compelling but muted found objects which attempts to re-voice and re-activate (to poeticise) the dumbed object trouvé of London's junk shops, market stalls and boot sales. Each object will be photographed, catalogued and ascribed a visual or textual response which reverbs with its formal, material or contextual cues. Objects will be selected/authored entirely subjectively but selection will be based on no conscious criteria. In the manner of Guy Debord's Dérive each selection will be an unplanned, unintentional discovery. "SPEAK, thing!"
