The Gestures of a Key

In the process that Stephen Farrell had laid out, my mindmapping excercise I did yesterday lead to an interesting discovery—exploring the gestures of a key. A nice direction that I hadn’t even considered. Next steps from here is to write short blips about why these different bubbles of thought are so interesting.

Gestures

The handoff, the presentation, the exchange—a key can be represented in many physical acts. The hand-off of keys to a newly licensed teenager, the presentation of a house key to a new homeowner or the exchange of house keys in a relationship; these are all significant acts associated with the key. In addition to these momentous occasions, there are the common everyday movements of a key. The sound of them jingling, a set dropping from our busy hands, the distinct turn and clink of metal and of course the frustration and panic that comes when we lose our keys. We copy keys and then we hide these spares under rocks, doormats, on top of doorsills and in planters “just in case”. The key is small but commands a wide array of movement and thought.