lubricant

When I had returned in the Happy space, people were looking at the Touch-Cabinet. They were cautious, and even when I had explained the meaning of this piece of furniture, some were reluctant to stick their hands in the drawers. It was a very timid response, which actually did not surprido believe that the biggest factor to produce these beautiful smiles, was the fact that interaction was invited.

I also believe that the surprise element of having to open up drawers and see what was inside it, added to the big number of happy faces People had to be encouraged to take out the objects. All of them took extreme care not to break things. So, unlike the popular belief that object- handling might cause damage I like to argue the opposite; Visitors acted in such a responsible manner, that the change of breaking was to be neglected.

The Touch -Cabinet is in the Kampala Museum on permanent display. My aim is to return in March, when I shall be visiting Uganda again. It would be wonderful if there was actually a change taken place with the objects inside it Already some of the objects were put back in different drawers.It would be great if the entire content would be changed on my next visit. On the second day of my visit, I discovered that one of the knobs had come off. When I was leaving that day, three people had become involved with the cabinet; The lady from the drums informed the girl from the entrance-desk ,who came running and produced the wooden knob.  then informed the carpenter in residence, who consequently spent an hour fixing the problem.Not only did he fix the knob, but also spend much time making sure the drawers ran smoother by applying some lubricant.The African twist is then, that this didnot made any difference, but i did not have the haert to tell the elderly gentleman. Already the story had start to gather momentum.They probably go home and tell what happened with this Touch-Cabinet.

 One is not used to be invited to touch. Having direct contact with an (unseen object) can be intimidating and sometimes, even a little scary.

However, once involved in the process, the visitors started to relax, and they always left smiling. When do people ever smile when they look at an object behind glass ?  She also informed the carpenter in residence , who subsequently spend the best part of an hour working on it. Not only did he put the knob back on, but also lovingly ensured that the sixteen drawers were running more smoothly by applying some lubricant. The African twist is then, that after spending all this time the drawers did not move any smoother. Graphite would have done the trick, but I did not have the heart to tell this elderly gentleman. I just profoundly thanked him and made a mental note to bring a pencil back on my next visit. Something else I have to correct is the artist statement and the sign for Touch- Cabinet. That will have to become more permanent. I can then also invite people to change the content of the drawers on the more permanent plaque.