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A collection of small, miscellaneous objects is arranged in a loose grid on a white surface. The items include a spool of red thread, orange plastic components, coins, buttons, and organic fragments.

Lenka Clayton publishes her brilliant 63 Objects Taken From My Son’s Mouth

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Date
11 November 2014

Kids are weird. Granted I say this as a 30-year-old man with no children, no nieces and nephews and no godchildren, but in the limited dealings I have had with babies and toddlers and whatever you call those ones that are older than toddlers, they are all pretty bizarre. Artist and longtime friend of the site Lenka Clayton has confirmed my suspicions with her project called 63 Objects Taken From My Son’s Mouth..

First exhibited at the at Pittsburgh Center for the Arts last year, Lenka has now worked with designer Brett Yasko and photographer Tom Little to create a book which features life-size full colour images of the objects rescued from her gastronomically-adventurous child when he was between eight and 15 months old.

“The collection indirectly documents those months of our lives,” Lenka says and among the 63 things you find everything from an acorn to a cigarette butt, metro tickets, small rocks and a sponge animal to coins from three different currencies (British pounds, Euros and US dollars).

As with much of Lenka’s work the core idea is delightfully simple, but the execution and the care and consideration that has clearly gone into publishing it are second-to-none.

A hand holds three small books in pink, blue and green. The green cover reads “63 OBJECTS TAKEN FROM MY SON’S MOUTH” and “Lenka Clayton”.
Above

Lenka Clayton, Brett Yasko & Tom Little: 63 Objects Taken From My Son’s Mouth

A person holds open a small white book with a green cover. On the left page is a grey rectangular stone, and on the right is a grey circular object with an embossed logo.
Above

Lenka Clayton, Brett Yasko & Tom Little: 63 Objects Taken From My Son’s Mouth

Two hands hold open a white book. A small, silver metal component is embedded into the centre of each page.
Above

Lenka Clayton, Brett Yasko & Tom Little: 63 Objects Taken From My Son’s Mouth

Two hands hold open a white book with a green cover. A small, jagged grey rock rests on each of the two open pages.
Above

Lenka Clayton, Brett Yasko & Tom Little: 63 Objects Taken From My Son’s Mouth

Two hands hold open a white book. On the left page sits a small piece of green moss, and on the right, a crumpled piece of black and beige paper.
Above

Lenka Clayton, Brett Yasko & Tom Little: 63 Objects Taken From My Son’s Mouth

An open book held by two hands. On the left page stands a small figure in a blue and white outfit, facing a crumpled piece of foil packaging on the right page.
Above

Lenka Clayton, Brett Yasko & Tom Little: 63 Objects Taken From My Son’s Mouth

Two hands hold open a white book. On the left page sits a tiny brown seed, while a larger brown nut rests on the right.
Above

Lenka Clayton, Brett Yasko & Tom Little: 63 Objects Taken From My Son’s Mouth

A person holds open a white book. On the left page sits a black binder clip, and on the right page is a small photographic slide.
Above

Lenka Clayton, Brett Yasko & Tom Little: 63 Objects Taken From My Son’s Mouth

A stack of books with colourful spines in shades of blue, red, green and yellow. Each spine reads “63 Objects Taken from My Son’s Mouth” and “Lenka Clayton”.
Above

Lenka Clayton, Brett Yasko & Tom Little: 63 Objects Taken From My Son’s Mouth

A small wooden figure in a blue jacket stands in the centre of a grid of found objects. The items include coins, a nut, a piece of orange plastic, a sponge and a crumpled brown paper bag.
Above

Lenka Clayton: 63 Objects Taken From My Son’s Mouth (Installation Shot)

A collection of small, disparate objects is arranged in a loose grid on a white surface. The items include a spool of red thread, a binder clip, dried seed pods, and various fragments of stone and plastic.
Above

Lenka Clayton: 63 Objects Taken From My Son’s Mouth (Installation Shot)

A collection of small, miscellaneous objects is scattered across a large white plinth. The items include coins, pebbles, a spool of thread, a small figurine and scraps of plastic and paper.
Above

Lenka Clayton: 63 Objects Taken From My Son’s Mouth (Installation Shot)

A collection of small, disparate objects are arranged in a grid on a plain white surface. Items include a spool of red thread, two cherries, a crumpled piece of blue foil, and several small stones.
Above

Lenka Clayton: 63 Objects Taken From My Son’s Mouth (Installation Shot)

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About the Author

Rob Alderson

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Rob Alderson is a freelance writer, editor and strategist. He was previously editor-in-chief of It’s Nice That and WePresent, and editor of Design Week. He publishes the newsletter Undo, which tries to make sense of how AI is changing design work, the design process and the design industry.

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