AUTOPSIES: THE AFTERLIFE OF DEAD OBJECTS

I was recently discussing the Autopsies Project with a friend who was eager to find out whether matches come under our remit for dead objects. On consideration, I decided they may in fact be the ultimate in dead objects, for their useful working lives are so short they are pretty much dead on arrival. They are struck, they burst into momentary flame and then are consigned to ashtray, bin, or pavement. On a wider scale, matches have been traditionally shunned in favour of the mechanical lighter which is refuelled and re-used.

The friend in question has been collecting boxes of matches for some time, mainly from junk and curiosity shops around Brighton. He kindly donated the box pictured for inclusion in the Autopsies project. I am unable to say with any certainty when the box dates from but it features detailed prints of Italian landmarks, a delicately crafted inner-box and a strip of very worn sandpaper. The matches inside are needle-thin and so chic in comparison with the lumpy affairs we grope for during power cuts today. These are elegant and fashionable. The strangest sensation comes from lighting one, as the smell it creates is the dead come to life--for it smells so much like the past.

Rebecca Harrison