Picture Show: Made in China

  • December 23, 20097:00 am PST
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header-mic_rubikscubesWhen we purchase objects adorned with "Made in China" stickers, we rarely stop to consider what that means. We tend to regard the toys, tools, and electronics we buy as being absent of history. Yet even the most mass-produced of objects can tell a story, if you know how to look for it. In an effort to collapse the distance between producer and consumer, the photographer Lorena Turner purchased knickknacks that had been made in China and sold in the United States; she then dusted them for finger prints and shot them under black lights. "Fingerprints don't reveal identity intuitively," says Turner, "but they do communicate a human touch, that someone had a physical connection and maybe even an emotional connection to an object."

What follows is a selection from Lorena Turner's "Made in China."

mic_ball
Ball with Puerto Rican Flag


mic_calculator
Calculator


mic_camera
Disposable Camera


mic_christmasornamentpackage
Christmas Ornament Packaging


mic_circuitboard
Back of Circuit Board for Remote Control


mic_clockback
Plastic Clock Back


mic_japanesebox
Lacquered Box


mic_letterstamp
Rubber Letter Stamp Set


mic_pencilsharpeners
Pencil Sharpeners


mic_plasticbag
Plastic Bag


mic_rubikscubes
Rubik's Cubes


mic_sandwich_container
Plastic Sandwich Container


mic_tapemeasure
Tape Measure



Are you a photographer with a project you would like to share with the GOOD community? Send a brief description and a few sample images (or a link) to photo [at] goodinc [dot] com, and we'll take a look. If we like it, it might end up as one of our Picture Shows. We look forward to your submissions.

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