There's No Such Thing as a Free Watch
2017

While in residence at the Museum of Capitalism in Oakland, I (as the Bureau of Suspended Objects) investigated a watch that had been offered for free on Instagram. This led me down a rabbit hole whose complexity was confounding even for the Bureau.

Read the full PDF of the zine here. (A French version is also available, thanks to Emmanuel Parfond). This project was featured alongside Alexis Madrigal's dropshipping explorations on an episode of Reply All.

Jenny Odell researching on a laptop, on a table with an iced coffee, her phone, a silver watch, a filled-out form, and sunglasses
The silver watch next to a zine with the logo of the Bureau of Suspended Objects and the title: There's No Such Thing as a Free Watch
A spread from the zine with paragraphs in Courier font and screenshots of watches being sold online and one-star reviews
A spread from the zine with paragraphs in Courier font and photos of a factory in China alongside Instagram posts about San Frnacisco and watches