The Ruler Brief

Everyday life is a skilled, dexterous engagement with our environment. To walk across a room, drink a glass of water, or flick on a light switch are sequences of action that require many hours of practice. If such activities are not considered skilled in the same way that a musician or craftsperson’s specialism might be, it can only be because of their relative ubiquity. For in circumstances where everyday skills are won, as with a child’s first steps, lost, as an effect of old age, or missing, as adult Westerners first try to use chopsticks, the practiced nature of ordinary skill becomes profoundly apparent.

This project considers the actions of everyday life not as monotonous, thoughtless acts of daily toil, but rhythmic, practiced interactions with the material world. It is based on the understanding that we are all skilful practitioners, in our own way.