Pandemic Objects Book Launch

During the Covid-19 pandemic, a host of everyday objects suddenly became charged with new urgency. Toilet paper became a symbol of public panic, convention centres became hospitals, parks became contested public commodities.

Initiated by curator Brendan Cormier in early April 2020, Pandemic Objects was first an editorial project on the Victoria and Albert Museum blog, a way to capture and ‘collect’ these shifts in use and meaning. Four years on, the blog has been edited and curated into a book in a fruitful collaboration between the V&A and AA Publications. The resulting publication is a considered object in itself, a tangible archive of this extraordinary time and a way to recall and connect with the seismic shifts and subtle lessons of the pandemic.

Brendan Cormier is Chief Curator at V&A East in London. He is the curator of several exhibitions for the museum including: Photo City; Cars: Accelerating the Modern World; and Values of Design and A World of Fragile Parts. Prior to this, he was Managing Editor at Volume Magazine. We are delighted to welcome Brendan to the AA Bookshop to celebrate the launch of this new publication over refreshments.

The book will be sold at a special price on the evening.