The hook itself is central to periwinkle blues. As a kid, my dad kept the hook in the pine box on his bureau. I would look at it sometimes and ask to hear the story of catching the two fish. Later my dad gave the hook to me.
I have used the hook in two other projects. The first project was called shore drive. I photographed objects of importance on the paint-stripped wood windowsills of the hundred year old Nova Scotia house I grew up in. The house was in the process of being sold and the work became a way for me to cope with that reality. In a sense, shore drive, because a cathartic memorial. In exhibition, each of the images was accompanied by a small text. For the hook: “Tuna hook, pine box Tom Boyne’s bureau. Hook used to catch seven hundred pound tuna. Prince Edward Island. 1975.”
Others from the series –
For the silver sailboat: “Silver sailboat upstairs bathroom. Detachable and positionable sail with rusted spar and purposeless screw.”
For the knife: “Carbon steel knife kitchen counter. Sharpest knife and prone to rusting. John Young’s uncle’s estate Windmill Road Dartmouth. 1977.
For Tug Boat: “Tug boat under sink upstairs bathroom. Loose smoke stack. Made by Tom Boyne for his oldest son. 1976.”
The second time I used the hook was in a project called and save these bits. The project started with the construction of a traditional machinists chest. The chest was made to house what had become a large collection of small objects. The project came from a practical place—a desire to safely store a collection of important objects that I was pulling from constantly for my work. Before building the chest the collection was stored in little bits all over—some here and some there in tin boxes or drawers. In the end, the chest itself and its contents became part of a new project. Before storing each item in its new place I made a 1:1 facsimile using a standard black and white photocopier. I then wrote a non-formulaic description of the object directly on the copy. Sometimes these descriptions were very literal other times they provided greater levels of information. For the hook: “seven hundred and eighty pound tuna hook. tom boyne prince Edward island 1975. only seems sharp enough to pierce a fishes mouth when size of said fish is considered.”
Others from the series –
corroded spoon. found at aunt katharines. green. found then thrown back then found again and kept.
unidentifiable crushed car. fifty cents. st. Lawrence market. like uncle ron smashing the shit out of most of his toys.
japan cowboy pin with rusty nose. st. michel.
– Chris Boyne
