Hands On with Glue. Material Ontologies of Historical Sticky Stuff

Hands-On with Glue. Exploring Material Ontologies of Historical Sticky Stuff

The modern English word “glue” is etymologically related to the Latin term gluten. During ancient times, gluten was already used in the meaning by which we know it today - a substance used for sticking objects or materials together. Before the discovery and industrialization of synthetic glues in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, adhesives were derived from a wide variety of materials derived from natural resources - ranging from flour to cheese, and from animal proteins to plant resins. The historical understanding of the nature of adhesives was similarly far-ranging and encompassed methods and techniques that may surprise us today, including the mordanting of textiles, the binding of pigments to make paint, and the coating of objects to protect them from the atmosphere and mechanical damage.

As glues tend to disappear once they have formed their adhesive bond, they do not easily come into view as a subject of historical inquiry. Yet, the long-term history of sticky substances, as I would like to demonstrate in this paper, shows how the materials and techniques used to make glue were part of a rich socio-material world characterized by practices of durability, recycling, reuse, and repurposing. During the hands-on workshop, we will investigate these practices further by experimenting with historical recipes for making glue. By manipulating, smelling, hearing, seeing, and perhaps even tasting adhesives, the workshop inquires how processes of remaking can help bring into view the deeply sensorial nature of material ontologies of historical sticky stuff.

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