In the Shed, construction projects are about more than creating material objects. They are visible markers of Sheddies’ production of the Shed, and focal points and vehicles through which Sheddies establish rapport with others. By attending to the material projects taking shape around them, Sheddies show their interest in others’ works, the skillsets used in the construction and use of objects, and interest in the creators of the projects themselves. Projects bring objects into the social arena of the Shed, which are taken up and used by Sheddies in connecting with each other. As Ross explains, when collaborating on material projects, Sheddies use such objects as media to form connections with others:
“[Relationships] evolve because you’re doing things with people. And this is probably particularly true when we were doing the fit-out and things. You’d been working doing the lining or something, you’d be working with somebody on that, and of course you’d not only talk about that but you’d talk a bit about, “What did you used to do?” And you find you came from the same town or you both find you know somebody or something or whatever. So there tends to be a bit of an attraction in there or whatever. Or feel they’re, I don’t know, similar intellect as you or whatever. Yeah, so, I think it’s really the fact that you are doing, getting alongside somebody.
– Ross M
The coming together of Sheddies over material projects is results-focussed and involves their mutual orientation toward a particular problem. The role of material projects is an essential one in the Shed, in drawing men together and giving them a common goal on which to focus. The men establish
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connections over the shared consideration of this outcome. People and settings (physical and social), are mutually defining (Altman, 1993). Objects and landscapes afford specific ways of action and interaction between human and non-human actors (Gibson, 1979; Wood & Giles-Corti, 2008), but can also be altered by people. The alterations afford new social practices and interaction, and so on. Such affordances are thus rendered visible through action (Gaver, 1996). The Shed exemplifies a context in which objects shape interactions and relationships, which reciprocally produce the Shed. Everyday material objects, particularly those that are produced communally, can act as media for, and shapers of, human interaction and shared practice (N. Morgan & Pritchard, 2005), and the doing of affiliation and identity formation. Objects taken up in material construction enable Sheddies’ shared contribution, and are important in the production of fun and meaningful activities over which team-building and camaraderie happen. The practical use of material objects renders such social practices both visible and tangible. That is, objects such as Deasy’s boat, Snoopy’s aeroplane (a float made for a local Christmas event), safety guards for machinery, and the physical Shed itself (shown in figure 10 below), while serving practical uses for the Shed and for the local community, are co- created by Sheddies. Such objects are imbued with meaning, are physical markers of Sheddies’ material and social efforts, and demonstrate positive relationships.
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Material projects exemplify the shared goals of the Shed and solidify shared identity, cohesion, and participation. Social outcomes such as camaraderie and togetherness are made possible by the construction of objects through material projects. As Deasy explains:
“It’s a total get-together, camaraderie, togetherness, have a bit of fun, and achieve something. Whether we’re doing something for a personal thing or for the community, the same applies”
- Deasy
Camaraderie and cohesion in the Shed are influenced by the group’s ability to satisfy particular material goals (Festinger, Back, & Schachter, 1950). The extent to which members observe group efficacy plays a role in their identification with, and participation in, the group (van Zomeren, Leach, & Spears, 2010). Material projects thus constitute vehicles associated with group cohesion and signal the intent of members to achieve particular material and immaterial outcomes. This occurs at the same time as projects reproduce the Shed as a site for cooperation and relationality.
Deasy’s boat is a particularly good exemplar of a material project that took shape at the hands of Sheddies, while also mediating human interaction. Shared projects are not solely about constructing material objects such as a boat, but also reproduce the Shed and the relationships that are emplaced there. From its inception, Deasy’s boat was envisioned as a collective project. Deasy saw the construction of the boat as an effective instrument for drawing men together and binding them using shared productive activity. Here, Deasy intentionally draws on the emotive and social properties (McCracken, 1988) he expects will arise from the project’s construction. As Deasy explains:
“I thought, ‘well, I won’t do this on my own. It’s a team effort. It’s gonna be a shared project and anyone who wants to join in can, if and when they want to, to give them something to do’. I’m quite happy about that because it’s been marvellous”
- Deasy
Deasy’s use of objects to create connections between the men is evident and reflects the deliberate appropriation of commodities in people’s everyday social consumptive practices (de Certeau, 1984). Through the thoughtful use of objects, Deasy is able to draw together agents who are located within this particular landscape, and uses taken-for-granted, everyday events to open up opportunities to solidify relationships and a sense of belonging (Hodgetts & Rua, 2010).
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The construction of the boat provides a focal point at which the personal, social, and material come together in weaving the men’s being into the Shed. The project was shared by Sheddies who physically wanted to take part simply for the enjoyment of boat-building, but who were also interested, and who wanted to contribute to a communal effort. Although Deasy initiated the project, those who shared the construction drew on their own agency to contribute materially and socially. As Deasy explains:
“I’ve got [Fred], there, who’s probably my right-hand man on the boat. Now, he brought in all sorts of things. He brought in some filler powder we were mixing up with glue. He brought in a whole lot of rubber gloves he’d brought at the Two Dollar Shop. He’s brought in all sorts of things. When we were having trouble with the plan, because our plan was getting open and closed so many times, we had little tear marks in it, so he brings in some see-through tape to put over it. I mean, things like that”
– Deasy
The appropriation and contribution of everyday items can represent, promote, and maintain social relationships and bonds (Money, 2007), where the gifting of items could be considered as giving of a part of the giver(s) (Mauss, 1954). By donating to the project, and contributing their time and material objects, Sheddies like Fred are doing more than being helpful and practical, but imbue the boat and the Shed with a piece of themselves, binding themselves to each other and to the boat, which will all eventually be given over to Deasy’s grandchildren. By paying attention to the everyday practice of gifting (such as material objects, time, concern, and care) we can see the relational nature of this group of men, as well as the purposeful production and strengthening of bonds between them (Hodgetts et al., 2013).
Traditionally, psychological literature has focused on the expectation of exchange assumed to drive the giving and sharing of resources (Cropanzano & Mitchell, 2005; Emerson, 1976; Mathur, 1996). However, the current findings suggest that everyday gifting occurs in spontaneous and altruistic ways in the Shed, without the expectation of return or reward. Such gifting helps to produce a culture of bonding in the Shed, and reaffirms altruistic and caring identities. As Jerry explains:
“For example, take [Fred]. I understand [Fred] used to be a [previous occupation] and he’s building the boat, and I’m helping [Fred]. And although we’re tied to the plan of Jim’s, Jim Young [the boat builder who supplied the plans], he and I will discuss things. And on Monday, for example, I always bring a large pot of soup or noodles, and he didn’t have any lunch and I said, “Come on, let’s go and have some lunch. I’ll give you a cup of soup”. So he appreciated
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it and it bond… you know, it forms a stronger bond and… yeah, so… it’s a case of sharing and giving and being open to input from others”
- Jerry
Gifting and the consumption of commodities not only play roles in the everyday practices of the Shed, but also render visible the complex ways these men relate, and (re)produce a shared identity as Sheddies (Hodgetts et al., 2013). Gifting is a way men anchor themselves to other men occupying the Shed space by offering jointly recognised tokens that demonstrate their relational ties to each other. Such ties transcend and outlast the initial projects that bound them together. Deasy responds positively to such offerings, and believes that Sheddies should feel valued and appreciated:
“They want to be part of it and if they’ve got some little gadget or bits or pieces they can contribute, well I hope they do and they feel good about it, that’s great. It’s appreciated and I make sure that I acknowledge what they’re doing. That’s a big thing. It’s just a matter of team effort and giving the guys, acknowledging what they’re doing as well. Make them feel part of it”
- Deasy
Gifting constitutes part of the positive experience Sheddies experience when participating in, or contributing to, material construction projects in the Shed. This is true for gifters as well as the recipients of gifts. Such demonstrations and positive affirmations provide concrete occurrences in which belonging and placement take shape, and work to crystallise and reproduce the Shed. Such occurrences also become vehicles for men to show their interest in one-another, and to ‘do’ community. Connection and relational bonds, then, materialise and are rendered visible via gifting:
“That is really an aspect of the camaraderie and the interest these people have. Otherwise they wouldn’t bother, would they? This is what happens. This is the sort of thing that happens, isn’t it? When you’re running a team effort”
- Deasy
Sheddies would not ‘bother’ to contribute to the project if they had not developed a sense of camaraderie. Sheddies’ gifting symbolises their interest in projects and in each other, and works to strengthen bonds between participating Sheddies, and to communicate and affirm shared identities. The intersection of the social and material is entangled in the material culture of the Shed, where material markers of camaraderie are not only visible, but are practical, and take shape through the very day-to-day activities of the Shed.
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Sometimes, objects open up opportunities for men to do more than converse, but to reminisce and let themselves be drawn up into collective remembering in which pasts can be imaginatively relived and cherished, if only for a short time. Skip, for example, discovered an Agfa-branded 35mm photographic film canister among the goods donated to the Shed. The find inspired excitement and conversation between himself and Rat. My journal entry of the event describes their recognition and shared connection over the object, as well as the emotion they expressed at the object’s discovery:
[Skip] found an interesting artefact and brought it to me to guess what it was. It was a small metal (aluminium?) tube, and [Skip] was covering the ends to hide the brand-name. I must have looked quite blank because he gave me the brand-name as a clue: ‘Agfa’. This brand had no meaning to me and I told him that I still didn’t know what it was, though [Rat], who was wandering by at that moment, gave a verbal exclamation. The object turned out to be an old film-camera film canister, used before the use of plastic containers [and use of digital cameras]. Although I couldn’t see the significance in the object or brand name (I didn’t say this of course, but smiled and nodded and said something along the lines of “Oh, right. I see”), [Skip] and [Rat] seemed quite excited. The Agfa container was placed into a box of ‘collectables’ that the Sheddies have started. The Sheddies appear to be very excited about items that have long since disappeared from use, and this collectables box has grown considerably since its establishment
- Journal entry: April 23, 2012
The Sheddies actively accumulate items that represent their links with other people and places (Money, 2007). Memory-elicitation promotes occasions in which joint reminiscing can take place and bonding can happen over the memories imbued within objects. Such items preserve memories that might otherwise be forgotten (Riggins, 1994). By collecting and reminiscing over objects that have fallen from use, Sheddies appropriate once mass-produced objects in the production of personal and shared narratives which link Sheddies’ past and present lives together. The Shed is thus a place of ‘re-membering’ as a material rather than purely cognitive process (Fortier, 1999), where, through collective recollection, men draw on memories of common pasts to establish a sense of unity and belonging. (Re)producing such enacted shared narratives reaffirms Sheddies’ identities (Hurdley, 2006). Senses of past and present that are imbued in the objects are drawn together in such narratives (Hurdley, 2006). Through re-membering, Sheddies’ pasts and presents are drawn together in the Shed place to cultivate a culture of membership through shared reminiscence. It could be
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expected that reminiscence ‘networks’ could appear and disappear on recurring presentations/viewings of the same canister with different groups of Sheddies at different points in time. The Shed and the objects within it can thus be returned to by Sheddies, to (re)engage in re- membering (Fortier, 1999). In this way, material objects, such as the Agfa film canister, become drawn up into social interaction as actors themselves.
In summary, construction projects are about more than the use of tools and raw materials to craft material goods. Projects are about creating opportunities to build rapport and connect with others also interested in construction projects. The display of projects and the tools used in their crafting, are important markers of Shed activity and work to produce the Shed. They symbolise to newcomers the activity and expectations or practice that take place in the Shed. Projects are used by Sheddies to understand themselves and their relationship to other men in the Shed, and provide reflection points through which this can happen. While these men engage with projects and objects, they are exploring each other and working socially to find avenues through which to bond.