FURUSATO

A Ritualistic matchstick-holder
about the Passage of Life

Client

Self

Discipline

Concept, Object,
Woodworking

Assembly

Coated Wooden Block
50MM x 50MM x 70MM

Date

2024

Client

Disciplines

Assembly

Date

Self

Concept, Object,
Woodworking

Coated Wooden Block
50MM x 50MM x 70MM

Date

In Japanese, ふるさと (furusato) roughly translates to "Hometown", often with a nostalgic sentiment. Here, matches get striked, burn brightly, and once they are used and deceased, they return home. The circle of Life and Death.

A mundane gesture turns into a introspective commentary about life. The grided order also serves as a Log; a record of activities that needed a bit of fire.

Precisely drilled holes help to align the matches in a grid, creating a sense of order and austerity. The matches embed themselves into a plinth-like structure, proportioned to feel like a monument — or a gravestone.

Wrapped in red-phosphorous strips and weighed down by metal inside the structure, the user simply takes out a match and strikes it against the object's body, lighting it, and then putting it back after.

The top of the structure is burned to a charcoal-finish, creating contrast against the pale match sticks, but more importantly, they foreshadow the fate awaiting the children lying in it.