Socioplastics 11887 The Material Changes as We Record It
A photograph can document a stain on a wall while leaving open whether water is still moving behind the plaster, whether a repair interrupted the process or whether deterioration is making the mark more visible. AutogenicWitness identifies evidence generated through an object’s continuing transformations. The material change supplies information, while the observer remains responsible for interpreting its cause. Stefan Helmreich’s work on seawater, sound and environmental mediation examines how scientific objects emerge through instruments and situated techniques. Heather Paxson’s anthropology of microbial cultures attends to time, material transformation and the practices through which evidence is interpreted. Their research helps connect changing matter with the methods used to observe it. A building study could follow a crack across repeated surveys, combining photographs, measurements, weather records and repair histories. Each observation would include the instrument, location and conditions under which it was made. Comparing records over time could show whether the crack widens, stabilises or changes with temperature. Residents’ observations and maintenance workers’ experience would add forms of attention that a single measurement may not capture. AutogenicWitness treats the object as a continuing source of evidence without assigning it intention or a self-explanatory voice. Its transformations become meaningful through observation, comparison and interpretation. The marker supports research into buildings, landscapes and materials whose states keep changing during study. Recording that change can improve diagnosis and make the reasoning behind an architectural decision more transparent. A dated sequence also helps future practitioners understand how the material condition developed and which interventions altered its course. This continuity matters when buildings pass between owners or maintenance teams.
REFERENCES
Helmreich, S. (2009) Alien Ocean: Anthropological Voyages in Microbial Seas. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Paxson, H. (2013) The Life of Cheese: Crafting Food and Value in America. Berkeley: University of California Press.
CITE AS
Lloveras, A. (2026) Socioplastics, LAPIEZA-LAB, Madrid.
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