Most people give no thought to the countless items they use everyday—coffee cups, laptops, shopping bags, the list goes on and on. But Paula Zuccotti thinks about these things all the time, and turned that into the remarkable photo project Everything We Touch.
In the series, 62 people in 11 cities around the world meticulously catalog everything they touch in a 24 hour period. Zuccotti lays everything out in chronological order, creating a fascinating glimpse into the daily lives of a special effects artist, a chef, a five-year-old boy, and many others. She's recently compiled them in a new photo book.
The idea springs from Zuccotti’s background as a product designer, ethnographer and trends forecaster. For the past 15 years, she's travelled the world studying the relationships between people and products. She sees Everything We Touch as a type of future archeology. "Many of the things we know about past civilizations are from insights gathered through their objects," she says. "Their possessions, tools, utensils, clothes, manuscripts and art have taught us about the type of work they did, what they hunted, grew and ate, and how they expressed themselves."
Those included in the book are Zuccotti’s family and friends, along with strangers with fascinating occupations and hobbies including a cowboy, cosplayer and a butcher. The range in age from one month to 71 years old, and live in cities as divergent as London, Tokyo and Marrakech.
Zuccotti asks each subject to keep a list of everything they touch during an agreed upon day. An object is recorded just once, even if it the person touches it repeatedly. She excludes things like door handles, and large items like cars. Everything else is included, even items as insignificant as a train ticket or receipt. Zuccotti even asks everyone to list the food they ate or the amount of money they paid for it. Each subject takes Zuccotti through their day while handing her each item to lay out. Nothing is omitted. "Honesty was at the heart of the brief," she says.
The photographer needs studio lighting and white background paper to provide a consistent look, so she rents a studio in each city. She lays everything out on a 13-by-9 foot canvas, and rigs her Canon 6D, with a wide-angle lens, nearly 10 feet above the canvas. Her iPhone makes a handy remote for viewing the shot and changing settings on the camera. She doesn't make composites; everything is a single frame.
Though the book is finished, Zuccotti is still making images, and encourages people to email her a picture of everything they touch in a day. She sees the project creating a visual dialog about cultural and geographical differences, and a way of seeing how much we all have in common. "My hope is that we will rediscover a bit more of ourselves," she says.
