John Edlund and His Life-Preserving Valise, 1915
When the Titanic sunk in 1912 south of Newfoundland, the world mourned the deaths of more than 1,500 people, and were outraged by the news that there were not enough lifeboats for all of the passengers on board. As a result, more stringent regulations were established for the number of safety vessels a ship had to carry. But a Canadian inventor had his own idea: passengers could carry their own personal lifeboats — in their suitcase. Continue reading »
Memory Suitcase By Yuval Yairi
Memory Suitcases is a thought-provoking series by Israeli artist Yuval Yairi that uses old, worn suitcases as canvases for nostalgic landscapes. Like scenes out of one’s memory, the propped up traveling cases feature a range of sepia-toned settings. The series presents the objects as though they are relics of a civilization from yesteryear, each with their own story to tell.
There’s something both heartbreaking and sentimental about the images. It appears to tell a number of stories of leaving one lifestyle for another. The suitcases hold within them a picture show of memories from a life-altering journey. Like a number of his other works, Memory Suitcases “mimics the natural process of memory.” Continue reading »
