But first let’s talk about toasters….
In a world full of cutting edge technology, innovation and mass production, the Edinburgh International Science Festival celebrates the legion of artists, entrepreneurs and ‘makers’ who create novel gadgets and ingenious inventions from virtual reality quests to the simplest of interactive games in sheds, studios and on their kitchen tables.
Thomas Thwaites, a graduate student at London’s Royal College of Art, set out to discover if it is still possible for one person to create an everyday household object from scratch. Selecting as his test one of the most commonplace consumer items available, he set out to build a toaster.
Thwaites will be speaking about his nine month quest at the Edinburgh International Science Festival on Saturday 6 April 2013. The art graduate began by personally pulling the raw materials out of the ground, and then built a home-made approximation of a product his local appliance shop sells for less than £4.00 – a toaster that ended up on display in the Science Museum in London.
Thomas Thwaites said:- “A desire for toast and the fulfilment of that desire is totally reasonable, yet the enormous industrial activity required to manufacture a device for making toast is absurd. At the same time, any romantic notion of returning to some kind of self-sufficient, pre-industrial past is equally absurd. I wanted to explore some of the questions about the organisation of our modern world, and the true costs of our consumer culture.”
Amanda Tyndall, Deputy Director of the Edinburgh International Science Festival, said:- “In this world of consumer excess and mass production, Thomas has stripped back an everyday object to its most basic components. The Toaster Project is a fascinating story, and one which makes us think about some of our household appliances in a whole new light. “
On Sunday 7 April, The Science Festival hosts Scotland’s first Mini Maker Faire at Summerhall, welcoming makers, enthusiasts, geeks, tinkerers, engineers and artists from across the Scottish maker community and beyond to show off their work. From cutting edge technologies to time honoured crafts, this family-friendly showcase is the perfect opportunity to converge and celebrate ingenuity, invention and resourcefulness.
Edinburgh International Science Festival celebrates 25 years of introducing audiences of all ages to innovative and entertaining science and is marking the occasion with a diverse programme of events. The 2013 Science Festival looks forward to the next 25 years and invites visitors to explore the future of our lives, our cities, our food, our play, our medicine, our challenges and our world. The Science Festival concludes on Sunday 7 April and full details of the programme, and all tickets, can be found at www.sciencefestival.co.uk
The Toaster Project Saturday 6 April 8.00pm Teviot Row Debating Hall Tickets (£8/£6)
Edinburgh Mini Maker Faire Sunday 7 April 10.00am – 5.00pm Summerhall Tickets £2.50
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
Comments are closed.