One of the key principles of the circular economy is to keep materials in use. Sitting unused for many years, this broken typewriter found a new life in our post card data art exercise.

typewriter

The mechanical faults became aesthetic features in the prints and human error lead to unexpected results. I also rediscovered certain creative affordances that work more naturally on the typewriter compared to a computer, such as not following a perfectly horizontal line and some slack in the ribbon that created text that fell over the dividing line between the red and black. These imperfections give it character.

There is a personal story to this typewriter that makes it more valuable to me. It used to sit in my Dad’s upholstery workshop where he used it to type letters before we had a computer. Upholstery is a circular craft in itself, the act of repairing quality furniture to keep it in a useful state.

Beyond this exercise, it has given a new emotional connection with the machine and new creative use cases that increase my desire to spend time on repairs. It is a beautiful machine and while it is perhaps no longer a necessary tool for word processing, can offer a unique perspective and output compared to digital tools.