Object No. 2016/48/6
Majid Rabet is a mechanical and electrical engineer, inventor and artist whose natural curiosity has pushed him to constantly create. He has made his own tools and gadgets in the most challenging environments, and in his workshop has designed and manufactured everything from street art to a wind and solar energy capture device. After fleeing Iran to seek asylum in Australia, Rabet found himself in detention, but continued to draw from his skills and imagination to create objects to improve the comfort and enjoyment of those around him.
I started in the detention [centre] to become [an] artist, because I find that only art can help. Art help[s] you escape from the moment.
Object Lesson is a Powerhouse digital content series that upends and inverts the legacy of a set of lesson cards held in the collection since 1880. Named for English educator. Elizabeth Mayo’s 1831 publication Lessons on Objects, the series is underpinned by a desire to learn more about the objects in our collection from people and communities who have special relationships with them.
‘Knowledge stems not only from teacher or institution or object alone — but at the intersection of all.’
Agatha Gothe-Snape, Powerhouse artistic associate
