Objects surround us every day. From mobile phones to toothbrushes, they are the bedrock of our daily lives.
But some objects are more special to us. They give us comfort and joy. They connect us with culture, heritage, and memories. You could say that they form a part of how we see ourselves.
In collaboration with Fix Flash we asked Year 10 photography students from Kingsdale Foundation School to use objects to represent how they see themselves and how they want to be seen.
Working with Elle Andrews and Marc Sethi the Year 10 students shot and printed out portrait photos of themselves. They combined their photo with personal objects and objects from our Handling Collection, to reflect their personality and identity. They then experimented with lighting to set the scene.
The result is these “object collages”. Playful, fun, and thoughtful, each one tells their own story.
Alysha
![Woman wearing black top and jeans holds a bird model surrounded by giant models of birds, lamps and a shell](https://www.horniman.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Alysha.jpg)
![Woman wearing a black top holds a model of a bird](https://www.horniman.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Alysha-crop.jpg)
My favourite item is the coconut bird. When I was two or three I had visited Barbados, this was my first visit to my family abroad, and it was a gift from them. The other items I had selected were all from different countries, the main thing that drew me to these items was the fascinating details. From the intricate design on the brass objects to the feather pattern on the bird.
Ayanna
![Woman standing near a starfish, drum, afro comb, and green, yellow an red striped hat](https://www.horniman.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Ayanna-uncrop.jpg)
![Woman standing with starfish at her feet and a drum behind her](https://www.horniman.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Ayanna.jpg)
I chose my objects because they relate to me as a person. Personality-wise and culturally too.
Dion
![Woman stands with hair over her face, with shells and figurines around her](https://www.horniman.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Dion.jpg)
![Woman with hair over her face wearing a Kings of Leon tshirt and with figurines around her](https://www.horniman.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Dion-crop.jpg)
Gracie
![Taxidermy ferret, a shell, the Horniman Walrus, a green parrot and a woman, all shot to look the same size](https://www.horniman.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Gracie.jpg)
![Girl wearing headphones round her neck and glasses, there is a stuffed parrot next to her](https://www.horniman.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Gracie-crop.jpg)
I picked [the] majority of my objects because they looked quite interesting and I felt like they had some sort of personality to them, I’d say my favourite was probably the ferret because in my head I made up a little story for him and thought he was quite sweet.
Iman
![A young woman stands on a drum. To the right hand side there are two more drums and in the centre there are two round decorations](https://www.horniman.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Iman.jpg)
![A young woman standing superimposed to be standing on a drum](https://www.horniman.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Iman-crop.jpg)
The objects I chose reflect my culture, my heritage, my history, and who I am as a person – me!
Oli
![Photo of a young man edited to look small next to a chess board, a deck of cards and a taxidermy rabbit](https://www.horniman.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Oli.jpg)
![Photo of a young man edited to look small,he is holding a feather and wearing a hard hat](https://www.horniman.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Oli-crop.jpg)
Oliver
![Photo of a young man edited twice into a pile of objects including a drum, a keyboard, a colourful elephant and a butterfly](https://www.horniman.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Oliver.jpg)
![Photo of a young man edited to look small next to a keyboard and colourful elephant](https://www.horniman.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Oliver-crop.jpg)
My chosen objects were things that shaped me as person, and things that were significant to me in my childhood that made me the person I am now.
Rosa
![Photo of a young woman edited to look small amongst some objects including an egg, a taxidermy squirrel and an animal skull](https://www.horniman.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Rosa.jpg)
![Photo of a young woman holding her hand to her heart. She is edited to look small next to a branch from a cotton bush](https://www.horniman.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Rosa-crop.jpg)
I picked the egg because the inscription on it reminds me of my Iranian heritage. My chosen objects were things that related to my background and culture. I wanted to be able to express my identity through the objects that surrounded my cut out image.
Rosalie
![Photo of a young woman edited to look small next to a horse figure and a shell](https://www.horniman.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Rosalie-crop.jpg)
![Three images of a young woman edited to look small amongst objects including a shell, a starfish, a butterfly, a colourful elephant and a horse figure](https://www.horniman.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Rosalie.jpg)
I think my favourite object was the butterfly as my middle name translated in Iranian “pavarneh” is butterfly; I feel like I’ve connected with that word in so many different ways and I think butterflies are really interesting and unique creatures. My objects were to close to home and my culture. I enjoyed surrounding my image with objects that really meant something to me.